Rapture
by othfan2012
Summary: Sakura knew that living with the Uchiha's after moving back to New York City would be an adjustment, but after meeting Itachi's younger brother she was more than ready to leave. She was sure Itachi was the better of the two, but if that were true then why is Sasuke the one to make her feel again after her parents death twelve years ago? SasuSaku-ON HIATUS
1. In Remembrance

**SasuSaku pairing**

 **Possible lemons in later chapters**

 **Flashbacks are in italics**

 **I DO NOT OWN NARUTO!**

* * *

Sakura peered out the window from her seat in first-class, watching the lights from the city below pass by. Being the red eye flight from Seattle to New York City should have meant that the pink haired girl was exhausted, but she found herself undeniably awake.

She slowly glanced around the small cabin of the plane and noted that there were only two others up front with her. Both appeared to be businessmen since they were dressed in suits and either working on their laptops or talking on their phones.

With bored disinterst she turned her head back around and once again faced the front of the cabin. She considered pulling her own laptop out, but decided against it. For some reason she felt content to just stare out the window even though the scenery wasn't much to look at, and once they were higher in the sky she wouldn't even be able to see the city lights anymore.

Sighing, she settled back further in her seat preparing for the long flight ahead. She didn't understand why her godmother had insisted that she take the red eye flight when she could have easily taken a later one tomorrow, but she didn't really mind. A part of her was excited to return to New York City.

'I wonder what Itachi's been up to.' She pondered breifly. 'He probably doesn't even remember what I look like.'

Although, she would imagine that her pink hair was probably hard to forget. She'd let it grow long in the years they'd been apart. It now fell past her waist in soft waves.

Most people would have found her hair difficult to maintain, but the truth was that she didn't do much with it, and although it was long it never seemed to get in her way. The only time she put it up was when she was volunteering at the hospital her godmother worked at.

Which brought her thoughts to the reason for the long flight she was currently on. Her godmother, Tsunade Senju, had recieved an offer to become the new Chief of Surgery at Konoha General Hospital where her parents used to work, and had promptly accepted.

The hospital had given her a month to make the move. They'd immediately started packing and sold their house just outside of the city in record time. Tsunade's first day wasn't until next week, but she wanted to give herself and Sakura time to adjust. She also needed the time to enroll Sakura in her new school, Konoha Acadamey. It was a pristegious private school that only the children of the cities wealthiest elite attended.

Seeing as how Sakura's parents left everything they owned to her upon their death,her godmothers well-paying job, and a scholarship for her perfect grade point average she could easily afford it.

Sakura frowned upon the thought of her parents, and immediately recalled why she'd had to leave New York City in the first place...

* * *

 _Sakura peeked at the man sitting next to her through her hair hoping that he wouldn't notice that she'd been starring at him for the past several minutes._

 _She felt a slight blush grace her cheeks at how beautiful the boy next to her was. With his long black hair that reached slightly passed his shoulders, dark mezmerizing eyes, and smooth pale skin that was the only word Sakura could think to describe him. Beautiful._

 _Almost as if he'd heard her thoughts the boy in question slowly turned his head and caught the small girl peering at him through her light pink tendrils. A small smile formed on his lips and he gave the girl his full attention._

 _"What is it, Sakura?" He questioned. "Do I look funny?"_

 _The small girl immediately shook her head in response._

 _"No. Your pretty Itachi. Prettier than me."_

 _He gave a small laugh, and placed a hand on her head ruffling her hair in an affectionate manner._

 _"Thank you, but I think your much prettier than I am."_

 _"Really?" She asked gleefully._

 _"Yes." He promised. "But looks aren't everything Sakura. It's always better to have a kind heart and caring personality than looks."_

 _"That's true I guess." she mumbled, wishing he'd keep telling her how pretty she was._

 _"However," he told her confidently. "your very lucky because you have both."_

 _"Thanks Itachi!" She grinned up at him._

 _"Your very welcome." he laughed._

 _At that moment Sakura's parents, and Itachi's among others, walked out of the meeting room they'd been inside moments ago. Several doctors took off in multiple directions. Apparently something very serious had happened. Itachi and Sakura's parents walked up to them with very worried expressions on their faces._

 _"Itachi," Fugaku Uchiha addressed his son. "We need you to stay here with Sakura while her parents go take care of a very important patient. Your mother and I have another meeting upstairs to attend. Will you be okay for the next hour or so?"_

 _"Yes. We'll be fine." He assured._

 _"Thank you for looking after her so much Itachi." Sakura's mother Mebuki said gratefully. "I know she can be a handful sometimes, but she's a good girl."_

 _"Mom." Sakura whined next to him. "Your embarassing me."_

 _Itachi chuckled and patted Sakura on the head once more._

 _"I don't mind Dr. Haruno. She's much easier to watch over than my younger brother Sasuke."_

 _"Sasuke?" Sakura inquired, her face puzzled._

 _"Yes. He's your age." Itachi responded. "You'll be in the same class with him next year when you both start school."_

 _Sakura made a disgusted face at the prospect of school, which caused everyone else to laugh._

 _"Well, thank you again Itachi. We really must go now. Our patient is in dire need of help and she's at least a twenty minute drive from here." Mebukie fretted, glancing at her husband Kizashi._

 _"We'll get there as fast as we can and do our best to help her." He promised, and then ushered her to the ambulance waiting outside to take them to their patient._

 _Sakura turned her head to watch her parents walk out the door and climb into the back of the ambulance with a small frown of worry on her face._

 _"Don't worry." Itachi whispered in her ear. "They'll be fine."_

 _She turned to face Itachi and looked into his black eyes that held nothing but complete faith in her parents._

 _"What about the girl?" She asked. "Will she be okay too?"_

 _"With your parents taking care of her I'm sure she'll be doing fine too. They're wonderful doctors Sakura. You should be very proud."_

 _Sakura gave a firm nod of her head. People always told her what wonderful parents she had, and how lucky she was to be their daugher. She knew people respected them, and thus treated her with the utmost care. Everyone said she'd grow up to be just like her parents one day._

 _'I hope I'm just like them when I get older.' She thought to herself._

 _Jumping down from her seat Sakura grabbed Itachi's hand and pulled him up._

 _"Let's go get some food Itachi. I'm hungry."_

 _"Okay." He said, then turned to his parents who had been watching him encourage the young girl with smiles on their faces. "I'll see you both after your meeting."_

 _"Alright. Have fun dear." Mikoto waved as she and her husband rounded the corner to take the elevator._

 _"Now," Itachi said, returning this gaze to the girl still clutching his hand. "What would you like to eat?"_

* * *

 _Several hours had passed and Itachi's parents returned, meeting them in the cafeteria to get some food for themselves while they waited for Sakura's parents. They all chatted happily and Sakura kept them all enterained with her childish enthusiam. She was an innocent 5 year old girl with stars in her eyes, and dreams in her head of the wonderful things life had to offer her._

 _The Uchiha's watched her with a hint of jealousy. Their innocence lost long ago and wishing they could see the world through the eyes of a child again._

 _Sakura was telling Itachi a story, waving her hands animatedly to help emphasize certain parts, when two doctors walked up to their table with grave looks on their faces._

 _"Mr. and Mrs. Uchiha, may we speak with you privately?" One of them inquired._

 _"Of course." Fugaku responded. "Stay with Sakura, Itachi. We'll be back shortly."_

 _Itachi nodded his head in confirmation and returned to listening to Sakura's story about how she was going to grow up and be a princess that lived in "the biggest, most beautiful castle" and one day her parents wouldn't have to work so hard because her servants would take care of them since they'd taken care of everyone else._

 _Fugaku and Mikoto proceeded to slowly walk to a corner of the cafeteria witht the two doctors for privacy. Since it was the middle of the night not many people were there so they didn't have to worry about noise, but apparently the doctors wanted to be sure no one overheard them._

 _Itachi glanced up only moments later to see his parents speaking to the doctors in heated whispers. Their faces paled and devistated. He immediately wondered what_ _was going on, but his thoughts were interupted when Sakura tugged lightly on the front of his shirt._

 _"I need to go potty." She shyly confessed._

 _"Okay." Itachi laughed. "Do you know where it is? Do you need me to come with you?"_

 _"No. I can go by myself. I'm a big girl." She promised._

 _"Alright. I'll be waiting right here, okay?"_

 _"Okay!" She exclaimed, already heading to the restroom._

 _Itachi's parents and the doctors stopped talking as she walked past them. They returned her wave with small, strained smiles, and proceeded with their conversation once she was out of earshot._

 _Itachi began to worry. His parents usually kept their emotions under control but they looked very upset right now._

 _'Did something happen with Sakura's parents?' He wondered. 'They didn't want her to hear them. Something must be wrong. I can feel it.'_

 _He glared at the ground in contemplation. Almost as if it was to blame for whatever problem had arisen. He knew his parents would tell him eventually, so he tried his_ _best not to watch their conversation and waited as patiently as he could for Sakura to return from the restroom._

 _However, because of his staring contest with the floor he didn't see the young pinkette sneak up behind the doctors, and it seems neither did his parents for their hushed conversation continued._

 _"What happened exactly?" Fugaku demanded. "Ambulances don't just explode for no reason."_

 _Sakura came up behind the doctors and hid behind a chair within close proximity so she could hear their conversation. She wanted to see if she could surprise them all with how sneaky she was, but when she heard Itachi's father mention an ambulance she decided not to jump out from her hiding spot just yet._

 _'Is he talking about Mommy and Daddy's ambulance?' she pondered, then shook her head after a moment. 'Itachi said they'd be fine so I'm sure he's right.'_

 _"The young girl they were helping was supposedly pregnant." One of the doctors explained. "Which is why Mebuki went along. The call the hospital recieved said she was going into labor, but her pregnancy had complications. When it comes to difficult deliveries Mebuki Haruno is definitely the doctor you want to have."_

 _"That doesn't explain the explosion." Fugaku practically growled._

 _"It turns out she wasn't pregnant at all." The other doctor hurridly interjected. "She was hiding a mass of explosives under a fake baby belly. Once they reached a heavily populated area she set them off, killing Kizashi, Mebuki, the ambulance driver, and five others in surrounding vehicles. Several others were injured but they'll make it."_

 _"Why would someone do such a thing?" Mikoto questioned, close to tears._

 _"She was being treated for a brain tumor. Chemo and radiation weren't suggested because of the supposed pregnancy. Kizashi was seeing her to discuss surgical options. Apparently, the tumor was sitting on a part of her brain that controls her personality causing it to become unstable. She became very volatile and erratic. No one could have predicted this would happen."_

 _"The police found a video recording at her house." The other doctor continued. "In it she said that she'd been planning to kill the Haruno's for months. That they were the cause of her sisters death years before. She also had a brain tumor, and was pregnant at the time. Kizashi was unable to save the mother, and although Mebuki succeded in delivering the baby it was premature and died shortly after."_

 _The Uchiha's stood frozen in place. Disbelief evident on their features from the story they'd just heard. None of them said a word and stood in silence as they tried to come up with a course of action, but Sakura chose that moment to come out of her hiding place._

 _They all lifted their heads in shock at her presence, unsure of what all she'd heard of the conversation, but judging from the tears streaming down her face they knew she'd heard enough._

 _Mikoto Uchiha began to approach her, but Sakura broke down before she'd even taken a few steps._

 _"Where are my parents?" She yelled, causing Itachi's head to snap up from across the room. Noticing her tears he started to walk towards her, but stopped in shock at her next words._

 _"They can't be dead! Itachi said they would be fine!" She screamed at the top of her lungs._

 _"Sakura honey, I'm so sorry." Mikoto said, finally reaching the girl and kneeling down to pull the crying child into her embrace._

 _"They can't be dead." Sakura continued in a whisper. "They just can't be. Itachi promised me."_

 _"You promised me!" She yelled, when she noticed Itachi standing before her._

 _"You promised..." She trailed off quietly._

 _She kept mumbling to herself about how they just couldn't be dead. They were suppose to take her to the park tomorrow, and she'd already made their Christmas presents. Everyone looked down at her with grave sadness in their features, wishing more than anything that they could change what had happened to her parents. She was far too young to be an orphan._

 _Mikoto held her gently and cooed in her ear trying, but failing, to stop her tears. She slowly rocked her back and forth in a comforting manner, but nothing seemed to consol her._

 _Sakura dejectedly lifted her head from Mikoto's shoulder to look into Itachi's devestated eyes._

 _"You lied to me Itachi." She cried. "How could you lie to me?"_

 _"I am so sorry." Itachi said, kneeling beside his mother and brushing Sakura's tears away with gentle fingers. "I didn't mean to lie to you. Please forgive me. I'm so sorry."_

 _"What am I supposed to do without my Mommy and Daddy?" She sniffled._

 _At this question everyone peered to the doctors hoping for an answer._

 _"We already called her godmother. The Haruno's made it clear to everyone in the hospital that should anything ever happen to them that she was the one to call. She's already booked the next flight out to pick up Sakura."_

 _"Auntie Tsuna's coming here?" Sakura asked._

 _"Yes, dear." Mikoto answered quietly. "She's going to take care of you now. Everythings going to be okay."_

 _Her words were meant to assure Sakura, to calm her down and make her feel better, but everyone among them knew that everything was most definitely_ not _okay._

* * *

'That was twelve years ago.' Sakura thought to herself, still gazing out of her window. 'The last time I saw Itachi was when he said goodbye to me at the airport. He's 25 by now. I hope he's doing okay.'

To no one's surprise Sakura turned out just like her parents; caring and compassionate. She'd even taken an interest in the medical feild and was hoping to become a doctor one day just like them. Which is why she'd been volunteering at the hospital where her godmother worked and studying under her since she'd entered high school.

'I just want to make them proud of me.' She mused.

Shaking herself out of her somber thoughts she decided to get on her laptop after all and proceeded in pulling it out. Once she turned it on and logged into her account she found and email waiting for her.

Sakura,

I've been in contact with Tsunade. She informed me that you all have yet to find a place in the city to stay. I immediately offered up the possibility of you staying with us at the Uchiha manor. She gratefully accepted. Did she tell you? Also, I'll be picking you up from the airport. She already told me when your flight lands. We've fixed up two rooms for the both of you. Your more than welcome to stay as long as you need. It'll be so nice to see you again. I've missed you these past twelve years. I'll see you at the airport. Be safe.

Itachi Uchiha

"Fuck." Sakura muttered to herself.

'Living with the Uchiha's? This is going to be interesting...' And she immediately set to the task of writing him a response.

* * *

 **Please review! I've been wanting to write a SasuSaku piece for a long time now. It just took me a while to come up with the right storyline. If you find any errors please let me know. This is my first published story EVER. So, any and all advice is welcome. I really hope you enjoyed it. There will be more to come. I'll update as soon as I can. I'll try to add a new chapter at least once a week depending on my work schedule. Thanks for reading!**


	2. If Only

After her six hour flight Sakura finally landed in New York City. Grabbing her carry-on and walking into the airport was, surprisingly, a huge relief for her. She was exhausted from all the packing, and the stress of the move had been weighing her down. Being there finally meant the hard part was behind her. At least she hoped it was.

While on the plane she'd spent a majority of her time writing Itachi, or at least trying to. She started, deleted, and restarted the email several times. Finally, she decided that short and simple was best.

Itachi,

No, she didn't tell me that we would be staying with your family. Thank you for your hospitality. I'll see you when I land.

Sakura

She wasn't sure how to speak to Itachi anymore. She was no longer a child in need of guidance or supervision, and he wasn't the 13 year old boy that she knew. He was a man now. She didn't want to say anything that might make her seem immature like she once was, but she also didn't want to be distant and cold towards Itachi. He had helped her through the most traumatic experience of her life, and the least she could do in return was show him some kindness.

However, while writing the email she just couldn't seem to find the right words, so she just answered his questions and hoped he wouldn't be offended, and as she walked through JFK that was all that ran through her mind. She didn't want her first meeting with Itachi Uchiha in twelve years to be tense and awkward, but she was afraid it was inevitable.

She grabbed her luggage from the baggage claim and followed the signs that would eventually lead her straight to Itachi.

Sakura was nervous that she may not even recognize the Uchiha since it had been so long, but her fears were unfounded, because when she descended the escalator she noticed him even before she realized there was a man standing next to him holding a sign with her name on it.

'He's even more beautiful than I remember.' She thought dazedly.

The years had been more than kind to Itachi. As a small teenager his body had been quite lanky, and although he had been tall for his age at the time, he'd now grown into is height. He was obviously in top physical condition, and although he wasn't bulky Sakura could make out his muscles even from a distance. He'd kept his hair the same, but now it seemed to suit his face better. Enhancing the maturity of his appearnce without making him look too old.

'Damn. If my younger self had met this Itachi she probably would have gone blind from staring so long.'

She hesitantly kept walking forward, and the closer she got the bigger Itachi's smile grew. Once she reached him she had anticipated a warm greeting, but she was caught offgaurd when he pulled her close and wrapped his arms around her small frame.

"I missed you, Sakura." He breathed into her ear.

Any tension she'd previously had immediatley left her body. She felt as secure with Itachi now as she did when she was a child. She felt herself sink into the hug and wrap her arms around his torso.

"I missed you too." Sakura responded in earnest. "I didn't realize how much till this moment, but it's so good to see you."

Itachi grabbed her shoulders and slowly pulled back from their embrace. The warmth she saw in his eyes melted away all of her insecurities and doubts. It now felt as if she'd never left.

'Maybe living at the Uchiha manor won't be as bad as I thought.' she hoped.

* * *

"This is your house?" She asked slackjawed.

Sakura openly gaped at the building before her. Calling it a house was almost laughable. It was obvious it was much, much more. The sprawling estate sat in the middle of their fifteen acre lot, spanding so far in either direction she could barely see where each side ended. It also stood three-stories high, with the most beautiful architectural design she had ever seen. The Uchiha manor was more like a castle than a regular home, but Itachi stood beside her with a bland expression on his face and with a shrug of his shoulders said, "It's just a place to live Sakura, nothing really special."

"Right." She sarcastically replied. "It's obviously just a place to rest your head at night. Nothing fancy."

"Exactly." He agreed. "Besides, didn't I always tell you that it's what's inside that matters most?"

Sakura felt a small smirk grace her lips at his joke, and then she understood that Itachi knew how magnificent his home was, and was grateful to be so privileged, but to him it was never the material items that were important.

"I'm glad you haven't changed. It'd be terrible if you turned into some spoiled brat over the years." She confessed.

"I'm glad you haven't changed either. Although I see you've grown your hair out quite a bit. It's a good look for you." He murmured playing with a few strands. "You always used to peek up at me through your hair. You were so shy even though we'd grown close since I watched over you so often."

"I wasn't being shy. I was just trying not to get caught staring." She stated bluntly.

Itachi smirked at her in response, and proceeded to usher her through the enteryway of his home.

The inside was just as stunning as the facade. It held a home theater, game room, personal gym and sauna, an indoor pool, and several guest suites that each had their own full bathroom and sitting area. Most of the house was covered in rich dark wood flooring, while the kitchen had marble tile and granite counertops, and crystal chandeliers hung from the ceiling in the very spacious dining area. The plush carpeting of the bedrooms upstairs was so soft Sakura thought she could sleep on it comforably, but once she caught sight of the king sized bed in the center of the room she immediately dismissed the idea.

She began to walk towards the bed and it was only then that she truly grasped how large the room was. It had to be at least half the size of the apartment she lived in back in Seattle, probably bigger.

Almost as if he'd heard her thoughts Itachi spoke. "You should see the master bedroom. My parents went completely overboard."

"Yeah. It must be awful." She joked.

Itachi just chuckled and took her back downstairs to get something to eat from the kitchen.

"You must be hungry after that long flight. What would you like to eat?"

"Anything is fine, really. I'm not picky."

"You never were."

It was then that they entered the kitchen and came across a young man rummaging through the fridge. He had dark hair and pale skin just like Itachi. Although he kept it noticably shorter. He wasn't as tall as Itachi either, and when he turned around at the sound of their arrival it was apparent that he was also a few years younger.

A sudden memory popped into her head like the flash of a lightbulb.

"Are you Sasuke?" She asked in excitement.

Her question was met with stunned silence. The two men looked at each other, back at her, then at eachother once more before dissolving into laughter.

"What?" She demanded.

"I'm sorry." Itachi chuckled. "It's just that my cousin is absolutley nothing like my brother. We don't even look similar. At least not compared to Sasuke and I."

At those words Sakura took a better look at his cousin. Their coloring was similar, but upon closer inspection their features were nothing alike. Itachi had fuller lips and his face was more narrow. His cousins eyes even had a different shape, and the color was lighter too. More of a dark brown instead of black. It was obvious they were related in some way, but not brothers.

"Well, I just assumed because he's the only one you've mentioned to me before."

"I understand." Itachi assured her. "This is my cousin Shisui. You won't meet Sasuke for a while. He's gone on vacation with a family friend and won't return until school starts next week."

She nodded in understanding and turned to face Shisui once more.

"It's nice to meet you. My name is Sakura Haruno." She introduced herself and held out her hand.

Shishui raised his brows at the name, but grasped her hand in his own and gave it a firm shake.

"So your the infamous Sakura that Itachi went on about? He told me a lot about you, but he didn't mention that your gorgeous."

Itachi scowled at his cousin and opened his mouth to reply, but Sakura beat him to it.

"He hasn't seen me in twelve years, so I'm sure he still pictured me as that little 5 year old until he picked me up from the airport."

"Probably," Shisui agreed. "but I didn't mean it as a pick-up line. I wouldn't go there with Itachi's childhood friend. He'd kill me."

"Yes. I would." Itachi threatened.

"Relax." Shisui urged, sticking his hands in the air in a 'I surrender' manner. "I honestly didn't mean anything by it."

" I know." Itachi sighed after a moment. "I just get the feeling that I'm going to be defending her a lot. I guess I just got ahead of myself. I'm sorry."

"It's cool man, but I'm headed out. Thanks for the food!"

And with that Shishui left out the back door leaving behind his mess from pulling out what appeared to be the entire contents of the fridge. Itachi immediately began to clean up after him. She got the feeling that Shisui treated this as his second home and Itachi was left picking up after him a lot.

"So what did you mean about defending me?" Sakura inquired. "Do you have a lot of flirty cousins or something?"

"No. Actually it's Sasuke and his friends that I'm worried about."

"Why?"

"You just seem like the type of person that would draw my brothers interest. Your personality, well, let's just say it would be refreshing to him. As for his friends they like just about any girl, but they'll especially like you."

"Oh. Well I'm sure I can handle it."

"We'll see, but I've been wondering. Why didn't Tsunade fly with you?"

"She had some last minute things to take care of at the hospital. She should be here within the next few days."

" I'm sure you're exhausted and jetlagged, so why don't you go get some rest and I'll wake you up when it's time for lunch."

"Sounds good. Thanks Itachi."

* * *

Sakura flopped down onto her new bed in a huff. Her thoughts were scattered and she had mixed emotions about being here. On one hand she was thrilled to be with Itachi again, but on the other, being back here brought up painful memories that she already struggled to put behind her. Coming back almost made them seem renewed and fresh somehow. A part of her was afriad she couldn't handle it. She felt the loss of her parents acutely now that she was back in the city that they raised her in. Also, everyone seemed to know who her parents were here, and she didn't want to be consoled or pitied.

They'd had a brief funeral service before they left New York and it seemed like the entire hospital and half of the town showed up to pay their respects. Family, friends, co-workers, and even patients attended. She recieved so many 'I'm so sorry for your loss's and 'They're in a better place now's that she'd ran out of the building in anger. Of course being only 5 years old she was immediately dragged back inside by Tsunade.

'God, I thought my head was going to explode. That was the worst day ever...second to worst.' She amended.

Sakura laid like that for several hours, too stuck in her head to actually fall asleep. A problem she constantly had, among others, and which caused Tsunade to worry. Before she knew it she heard a soft knock on her door.

Itachi appeared in the doorway and leaned against the frame. He crossed his arms, and frowned as he looked at her.

"You can't sleep." He stated.

"No. It's been like this ever since...ever since my parents died. I see them when I close my eyes. I dream about how they died. It's like I'm in the back of that ambulance with them. The look that girl has on her face right before she detonates the explosives...it makes my blood run cold. She looks so _pleased._ I wake up screaming sometimes."

"Sakura..." Itachi started as he approached her.

Seeing the worry on his face Sakura sat up and put a smile on.

"I'm sorry. I don't know where that came from. It was a little dark, but I swear I'm okay."

"Are you sure?" He hedged. "Because we can talk about it if you want."

"I'm fine. I promise."

She hopped off the bed and grabbed Itachi's hand to drag him out the room, hoping that she could distract him enough that he wouldn't ask anymore questions.

'If he only knew...' She thought numbly. 'The nightmares are just the beginning.'

"Now lets go grab some lunch and we can watch a movie in that big home theater!"

* * *

 **Sorry for the shortness of the chapter. It's more of a filler than anything but I wanted to give you a peak into the problems that Sakura will have to overcome later on. Also, as to why everyone in her family is a doctor I wanted her to be heavily influenced into choosing the career that she did, not just because it's what she's good at. In a side note I picture Sakura looking like what's in the cover photo. I tried to post that in the first chapter but it wouldn't let me update for some reason. Thanks for reading and please review! I hope you enjoyed it.**


	3. Shadows of the Heart

**So to make up for the shortness of the last chapter I made this one pretty long.**

 **Also, I'm sure you all will be pleased to know that Sasuke FINALLY makes his grand appearance in this chapter.**

 **Sakura's inner voice does too, which is basically an alter-ego in her head.**

 **And in one more piece of information, the school uniforms that I describe in here I pretty much picture to look like the ones from Vampire Knight.**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

It had been a week since her confession to Itachi, and luckily he never pushed her for answers. She was grateful. She didn't want to lie to him, but she wasn't ready to open up completely, and if he'd asked it would have put her in a tough position. Her parents death was something that haunted her every day. She'd hoped that by now she would have at least come to terms with it, but no matter how hard she tried she seemed to struggle. Every time she saw a family together on the streets she imagined what it would have been like if her parents had lived. She couldn't picture them being anything but happy together, and it broke her heart to know that she would never get to experience certain things in life because they were gone.

'They'll never get to see me graduate, or go to prom. My dad will never walk me down the isle, they'll never get to know their grandchildren, and' She thought lastly. 'They'll never see me become a doctor too...'

Sakura hung her head in disappointment. She hated the train of her thoughts, but everything that popped into her mind was so melancholy lately. It frustrated her beyond reason, but she just couldn't seem to make it stop.

'It's being back in this damn city. The whole place just brings up bad memories.'

"Sakura?" A voice spoke from the doorway.

Speaking of bad memories, her Aunt Tsunade had gotten in from Seattle last night and today she was taking her to the hospital so she could sign up to volunteer there a couple of times a week.

"Are you ready to go?"

"Yeah. Sorry, I didn't realize you were waiting on me." She apologized.

"It's fine, but are you sure you want to do this?" Tsunade inquired. "There are a dozen other hospitals you could volunteer at. It doesn't have to be where your parents worked."

"Yes. It does." Sakura replied firmly. "I have to do this. I have to know that I'm strong enough to handle this, and...I think it's what they would have wanted. They would never want me to hide in fear from a place that brought them so much joy. They put their blood, sweat, and tears into that hospital and it's patients. The least I can do is try and follow in their footsteps."

Tsunade smiled at her in pride, and nodded in agreement.

"Right. Let's go then."

With that they proceeded out of the Uchiha manor and into the heart of the city.

* * *

Sakura stared at the sign that read "Konoha General Hospital," and underneath that "Number 3 hospital in the Nation."

The hospital itself was just as she remembered it, although it looked as if they'd made some updates in the past few years. It stood 10 stories high, and had four main wings. Each making up a corner of the vast building. There were skywalks connecting each wing at the third, fifth, and seventh floors. If she remembered correctly there was a clearing in the center that housed a small garden and sitting area for patients to enjoy if they were able to go outside. It was also where many of the employees had thier lunches.

At the moment she stood before the circular driveway of the "Emergency Room Entrance." It was where the ambluances dropped of their patients, and it also happened to be the quickest way to make it to Tsunade's new office. Which was seated directly above it on the fourth floor. That's where most of the hospitals office buildings were kept. While the rest were patients rooms, OR's, ICU's, therapy treatment centers, and even a clinic. Everything inside the hospital was state-of-the-art. No exspenses were spared, thanks in large part to the Uchiha family. They had regular meetings here in the past because they donated large sums of money to the research teams, and helped pay for almost everything inside the hospital.

However, Sakura had learned just days ago that the Uchiha's had actually bought the hospital a few years back, and Itachi, along with his parents, helped run it now. Fugaku and Mikoto handled most of the business here in New York City while Itachi frequently traveled to smaller branches of the hospital to make sure they were up to par with their standards.

'Okay.' Sakura shook herself. 'You can do this. It's time to face the past, and prove you can handle it.'

"No pressure." She mumbled.

"Did you say something Sakura?" Tsunade asked.

"I was just preparing myself for the memories that come along with this place."

Tsunade placed a reassuring had on Sakura's shoulder and gave it a slight squeeze.

"You're going to be okay, and I know your parents would be so proud of you right now."

"Thanks aunt Tsuna." Sakura said with a small smile of gratitude. "Lets go inside. I'm ready now."

They stepped up to the double automatic doors and were immediately hit with a blast of cool air. They kept a slow place to take in thier surrounding, and Sakura just kept thinking, 'It all looks so clean, and the air even has that sterile smell to it.' Somehow this brought her comfort. She'd always liked the cleanliness, and organization of hospitals. Everything had a place, and the people worked together like a well-oiled machine. It reminded her a bit of a beehive. People buzzing about to and fro, trying to deliver important documents or running to help a patient. It was organized chaos, and it brought a nice distraction to her troubled mind.

'This is much easier to handle than the silence of the manor. I swear my thoughts echo back to me in that place sometimes.'

Tsunade lead her down hallways and corridors that seemed much like a maze, but it was clear her aunt knew where she was going. They rounded a corner and immediately happened upon the elevators. They took one to the fourth floor where Tsunade stepped out and then turned to face Sakura.

"Take this up to the eighth floor. That's where they do volunteer sign-ups and orientation. When you get done just head back down to the main floor and I'll meet you at the entrance we came in through."

Sakura nodded her head in understanding.

"And don't be afraid to ask for help if you get lost!" She shouted before the elevator doors closed on her.

"I love her," Sakura began. "but she has absolutely no knowledge of what it means to use your 'inside voice'."

There was a small ping for each floor she reached, and several stops were made to let others on before she made it to the eighth. When the doors finally opened and Sakura stepped out she was immediately relieved. The elevator was getting quite crowded and for some reason people kept giving her strange looks and would talk in hushed whispers behind her.

"That's odd," She commented. "but whatever."

She looked around and found a small sign with arrows pointing in several directions. She read until she saw the one that would lead her to the volunteer sign-up. After walking for a couple of minutes and making several turns Sakura finally found the counter she was looking for. There were a number of clipboards laid out. Each held a sign-up sheet for all of the different units in the hospital. Sakura found the one she was looking for and began to fill out the usual prompts; name, age, gender, preferred hours of work, experience, etc.

As she was writing she felt a presence behind her and turned to find a nurse standing over her shoulder gapping at her paper. She actually looked quite familiar with short dark brown hair that fell to her chin, black eyes, and fair skin. She looked to be in her mid-thirties.

"Do I know you?" Sakura ventured. "You seem really familiar to me."

"Y-your Sakura H-Haruno." The woman stuttered.

"Yes." Sakure replied, confused.

"I-I...I'm sorry. It's just that you look just like your parents. Especially your mother."

"You knew my parents?"

"I did." She confirmed. "I worked very closely with Mebuki down in the Prenatal Unit. I met your father Kizashi several times as well. They were amazing doctors, and even more amazing people. I'm so sorry for your loss."

"Thanks." Sakura said, slightly uncomfortable now. "What's your name?"

"Oh! I'm sorry. I guess I got carried away and forgot to introduce myself. My name is Shizune. It's a privilege to meet you."

"Thanks." She repeated. "I'd tell you my name but you already know it."

"Everyone here knows your name." Shizune informed. "I'm sure you'll have a lot of people giving you a warm welcome. Which unit did you decide to volunteer for anyways?"

"Um, Oncology." Sakura told her a bit warrily.

"Wow. That's not an easy one, but I'm sure you can handle it. Your a Haruno after all."

"It's where I've always volunteered at in other hospitals. Helping cancer patients...it bring me joy, and I feel like I could learn from their strength."

"We all could." Shizune agreed. "Will you come in a lot?"

"It'll mostly be weekends because of school, but I'll come in as much as I can."

"Good. We could use you, but I have to go now. Our new Head of Surgery just got here and I'm her new assistant so I don't want to make a bad impressioin by being late."

And with that the dark haired woman walked off.

"Aunt Tsuna's in for a treat. That woman will probably worship the ground she walks on if she was like that with me." Sakura laughed to herself.

After Sakura finished her paperwork and orientation she finally began to head back to the Emergency Room where she and her aunt had entered, but she decided to take the stairs instead of the elevator hoping that the extra time would allow her to memorize everything she had learned within the past hour.

She'd just finished going over the last important point when she opened the door to the first floor. Walking down the hallway she once again followed the signs to the exit. She was about to make a turn down the hallway when something out of the corner of her eye caught her attention.

Sakura turned to her right and gasped at what she saw. There, hung on the wall was a large photo of her parents. Both were holding one of several of the awards they'd won over the years, and were smiling brightly into the camera. Below the photo was a small plaque that read, "In loving memory of Drs. Kizashi and Mebuki Haruno." A small table sat under it and there was what appeared to be a thin packet laying there. Sakura slowly stepped forward to take a closer look. She could hardly read the paper through the tears in her eyes, and once she finally made sense of the words they only flowed more freely. The packet was actually a petition to rename one of the wings of the hospital in honor of her parents. There were so many signatures that they kept having to add extra paper.

'My parents were important to _this_ many people?' Sakura thought in shock. 'I always knew that everyone here respected them, but I never expected this.'

"I'm not the only one who misses the two of you." She told the photo.

Sakura turned away from the image of her parents in despair and walked around the corner going to the small sitting area she found there to wait for her aunt. Falling into one of the chairs her tears continued to pour out of her.

'You all should be here!' She thought slightly angry. 'You left me to face all of this alone. How am I suppose become a great doctor if you all aren't here to show me the way?'

"Damn it!" Sakura exclaimed. "I told myself I wouldn't do this. I am not going to fall apart for all these people to see. I'm stronger than that."

She slowly dried her tears, and looked at her surroundings for the first time. Glancing around she thought the sitting area looked familiar.

'Maybe I remember my way around this place better than I thought. I'm pretty sure the cafeteria is right behind here.'

With that thought her eyes went wide in realization. She stood up with a speed she didn't know she possessed in utter shock.

"It can't be..."

Sakura felt her heart start to race so fast and hard that she heard it in her ears. Her blood was pounding through her veins at an alarming rate and her breaths were coming in short, quick pants. No matter what she did she couldn't seem to get enough air into her lungs. She began to see dark spots at the edge of her vision and her head felt light.

"Miss," someone spoke from beside her. "Are you alright?"

Sakura barely heard them. Even though she could see them it's like they didn't even exist. All she could think about was this is was the place. This is where she stood when she heard that her parents had been murdered.

"I-I...-h-h-have t-to get o-out of...of h-here." She huffed and raced out of the building on shaky legs. She was in such a hurry to get away from the terrible memory that had manifested itself before her that she didn't even notice there was a person in front of her until she ran right in to them.

She stumbled and felt herself pitch backwards about to split her head open on the concrete when she felt a pair of strong arms grab her waist before she could fall. Peering up all she saw were wide, deep blue eyes and messy blond hair...then everything went black.

* * *

"Hey." Said a voice from above her. "Wake up."

She felt a hand lightly pat her cheek. Sakura turned her face away in annoyance trying to escape the offending sensation.

"Mmm." She groaned.

"You have to wake up. Come on!" The voice spoke again.

She suddenly felt a pair of hands grab her shoulders and jostle her awake. She slowly opened her eyes but had to squint because of the bright light above her.

"What the hell?" Sakura growled. "You don't have to shake me so hard. I think I've got whiplash now."

She grabbed the back of her neck in an attempt to massage the knots out of her now stiff muscles.

"Sorry." The boy said sheepishly. "You just fainted right in my arms and I wasn't sure what to do."

"We're in front of a hospital. Did you ever think it might be a good idea to go inside and get some help?" Sakura suggested.

"Oh yeah. That probably would have been smart. I didn't think of that." The boy laughed.

"Whatever." She mumbled. "Could you help me up please?"

"Sure! My names Naruto Uzumaki by the way. What's yours?" He asked, grabbing her outstrethed hands to lift her from the ground.

"Sakura Haruno." she replied dusting herself off. "So, how long was I out anyways?"

"Just a couple of seconds, but boy did you scare me."

"Sorry about that. I just, um...well, it's complicated."

"I've got time." Naruto assured her. "Let's sit down."

For a moment she considered turning him down and going elsewhere to wait on her aunt, but he was looking at her with such beautiful eyes. Honestly, she'd never seen eyes so blue in all her life. They were the color of an azure sky.

'They remind me of the ocean. They almost sparkle and reflect the light back at you.' She thought, slightly mesmerized.

Sighing, Sakura followed him to a nearby bench and sat down next to the blond. She didn't really feel like talking, but she thought she might as well humor him for awhile. He did save her from cracking her head on the pavement after all.

"You seemed really upset when you ran into me. Is everything okay?"

"Yeah. I'm okay now. I just...well, um...I had a small panic attack." She confessed.

'What the hell?' Sakura thought dumbly. 'Why did I just tell him that? Not even three seconds ago I was thinking I don't want to talk to him, and then I tell him about my panic attack? I've officially lost my mind.'

She peered over at the blond boy seated next to her wondering what it was about him that made her open up to him so easily. They'd just met mere moments ago, but she didn't feel awkward in his presence. He had a charisma that was actually quite charming, and he was very friendly.

'Warm.' Sakura thought before she could help herself. 'He's so warm, and happy. It's disarming. It makes me want to tell him all of my problems.'

 **'Why don't you then?' said a small voice from the back of her mind.**

"Wow. That's rough." Naruto sympathized. "Do you have those often?"

"Occasionally. It's been a while though. I haven't had one in over year now." She explained.

"What caused it?"

Sakura hesitated for a moment unsure if she should really tell him about her parents. He was the first person she'd met that didn't look at her with pity. It was so refreshing and new that she didn't want to risk losing it.

"You can trust me." He promised.

Looking into his eyes and seeing the truth of his words encouraged her to continue.

"My parents died in a car bombing twelve years ago, and without realizing it I'd gone back to the place where I was when I found out. I haven't been there since that moment. My panic attacks are caused by extreme amounts of stress and fear. That was the scariest moment of my life, realizing I was all alone, and when I figured out that's where I was sitting it was like reliving the entire thing all over again."

Sakura shook her head sadly and looked at Naruto expectantly.

"Your wrong." He stated simply.

"What?"

"Your wrong...about being alone. Your not. I'm sure you have plenty of people in your life that care about you, and want nothing more than for you to be happy."

She immediately thought of Itachi back home and her aunt upstairs inside the hospital.

"I guess your right, but I just moved back to New York City after twelve years away. I don't really have any friends here."

"Well, you do now. I'll be your friend Sakura. At least if you want me to that is."

All she could do was stare at Naruto dumbfoundedly. With just a few words he'd given her hope and friendship. Two things she was afraid that she would always struggle to have.

"Thanks, Naruto. I would love to be your friend."

"Great!" He said excitedly. "I start school tomorrow, but we should definitely hangout afterwards."

"That works fine. I start school tomorrow too."

"Really? Where do you go to school?"

"I just enrolled at Konoha Academy."

"No way! That's where I go too! We should ride to school together then. Where do you live? I can pick you up."

Sakura laughed lightly at his enthusiam. It certainly didn't take much to get him in good spirits.

"Um, well right now I'm staying with some family friends. Do you know where the Uchiha manor is?"

Naruto's eyes suddenly became as big as saucers. It was clear he knew exactly who the Uchiha's were.

"Your staying there?" He questioned. "Are you friends with Sasuke or something?"

"No, Itachi. He used to watch me while our parents were at work. I've never actually met Sasuke."

"Yeah. That makes more sense." Naruto nodded in contemplation. "Sasuke doesn't really have any girl friends as far as I know, but I guess that'll have to change since you guys are living together."

"So you know him?"

"Oh yeah. Sasuke's my best friend. He actually just went on vacation with my family."

"Ah." Sakura said in understanding. "Your the friend that Itachi mentioned then."

"Yup." Naruto grinned. "I'm over there all the time, so we probably would have met sooner or later. This works out perfectly though! I usually go to school with Sasuke, but now we can all go together."

"Sure." She agreed. "Sounds good."

"Aw man this is gonna be awesome! I'm sure the three of us will be really good friends."

"That'd be nice." Sakura confessed.

"Great. I'll see you tomorrow then." And with a happy wave Naruto walked off.

'He's a nice guy.' She surmised. 'I hope Sasuke is like that.'

 **'See?' Her inner voice said. 'It's not hard to make friends if you just give people a chance.'**

"Sakura!" Her aunt shouted from behind her.

Looking over her shoulder Sakura saw her aunt speeding towards her. She was immediately on high alert. Something must be wrong, if her aunt looked so upset.

'Not to mention she's running. Aunt Tsuna _never_ runs.'

"There you are." Tsunade huffed when she reached her. "I couldn't find you anywhere inside. I got worried."

Sakura let out a sigh of relief. Nothing was wrong.

"Sorry." She apologized earnestly. "It was just getting overwhelming in there so I came out to get some fresh air."

"Are you okay? Did something happen?" Her aunt asked urgently.

"No. I'm fine. I swear." Sakura lied.

She didn't need her aunt knowing that she'd had a panic attack for the first time in over a year. They always scared her, because Tsunade knew there wasn't much she could do to help. The first time Sakura had a panic attack was when she was six. Exactly a year after her parents death. She and Tsunade had went to visit her parents graves, and she just...broke down. After that they happened more frequently. Anytime she saw something that reminded her of her parents her body seemed to freak out uncontrolably. Years down the road Sakura managed to get a handle on them, and they happened less and less often. Until now she thought it was all behind her it had been so long.

"Good." Tsunade breathed out relieved. "Lets go home. I just finished a mountain of paperwork and I could use a drink."

* * *

Sakura studied her reflection in the full-length mirror inside of her bedroom closet. Today was her first day at the prestigous Konoha Academy, and the first thing she had taken notice of was that the school required their students to wear uniforms. She hated the idea the moment she heard it. Back in Seattle she had attended a public school and was free to wear whatever she pleased. Although the constant rain usually kept her in jeans and sweatshirts, but after trying the uniform on she concluded that it wasn't so bad.

"At least this way I don't have to worry about picking out something to wear every day." She said thoughtfully.

The uniform consisted of a black jacket with the school emblem on the front, a white button up shirt along with a red tie, and a black pleated skirt with small red stripes at the bottom. She chose to pair it with some black thigh-high socks and a pair of her favorite boots.

Grabbing her bag, which was fully stocked with supplies from a shopping trip she had taken with her aunt the day before, she headed down stairs to grab some food before she met up with Naruto and hopefully Sasuke.

'I swear the guy is a myth. I've been here over a week and I haven't seen him once. Not even a picture. I feel like everyone is playing a big trick on me.' She thought in aggrivation.

Reaching the kitchen and opening the fridge Sakura pulled out some vanilla yogurt and apple juice. She just sat down on one of the stools in front of the kitchen island when she heard footsteps. Looking up she saw Naruto standing there opposite to her.

"Good morning Sakura!" He greeted.

"Hey Naruto. How'd you get in here? I didn't hear the doorbell." She inquired.

"I have a key." He shrugged. "I came over here so often everyone decided it would save time if I could just let myself in."

"Sounds like your another Shisui." Sakura laughed.

"You met him?"

"Yeah. He was raiding the fridge when Itachi was showing me around after we got back from the airport. I actually thought he was Sasuke when I first saw him."

Naruto blinked at her and then let out a howl of laughter.

"That was pretty much the reaction I got from him and Itachi too." She huffed.

"That's funny." Naruto said, wiping his now wet eyes. "Once you get to know both of them you'll understand. Their personalities are complete opposites."

"Really?"

"Yup." He confirmed with a nod. "Shishui is definitely not Sasuke."

"No." Said a deep voice from the entryway. "I am."

Naruto didn't hesitate to turn and greet the person who'd spoken.

"Hey Sasuke! You ready for the first day of school?"

"Hn." He responded. "I thought I told you not to invite anyone over without telling me dobe."

"I didn't." Naruto said confused, then his eyes brightened in understanding after a moment. "You mean Sakura. Itachi invited her to stay here. Have you all still not met yet?"

He turned to Sakura hoping for an explaination, but she didn't even hear him. She was too distracted by the man in the doorway. He was only slightly shorter than Itachi, but taller than his cousin Shisui. In a few years he'd probably be taller than the both of them. He had raven colored hair that stuck up in the back. Ordinarily, she would have just dubbed it black but if you looked close enough you could see an underlying tint of blue. He had the same eyes as Itachi; dark, endless, and hynotizing. Sakura could look into their depths forever. His face was, well, she could classify it as nothing but a work of art. Michelangelo's _David_ paled in comparison.

'If Itachi is beautiful then he's...'

 **'Sexy? Smokin' hot? Drool-worthy?' Her inner voice supplied.**

In a moment of stupidity Sakura came close to actually nodding her head in agreement, but caught herself at the last second. That's when she noticed that she'd been staring for quite some time and they were both gazing at her in return. Although, Naruto was looking at her in concern while Sasuke was giving her a look of utter exasperation.

"Great." She heard Sasuke mutter. "Another fangirl in the making."

Sakura immediately snapped out of her daze. Sure the guy was attractive. There was no denying that, but it didn't mean she was going to become obsessed with him.

"Excuse me?" She questioned, angrily.

Sasuke gave her a slight once over before bringing his eyes up to her turquoise ones.

"Listen, no offense but I'm not interested, so you should probably just go ahead and look elsewhere." He stated bluntly.

"No, you listen **.** " Sakura fired back. "I'm not a fangirl, whatever that means. I'm here because my aunt and I need a place to stay, and your brother kindly offered to take us in. I am _not_ here to follow you around and stroke your ego. Apparently, its already more than big enough."

"Whatever." He replied in a bored tone, and walked out of the kitchen.

She clenched her hands at her sides in frustration, and glanced around hoping to find something with reached that she could use to bash over his head.

'The nerve of some people!' She exclaimed. 'I've never met someone so arrogant in all of my life.'

 **'Yeah, but he's still sexy.' The little voiced reminded her.**

'Shut up!'

"Sorry about that Sakura." Naruto said embarassed. "I promise he's not a bad guy. The girls at school just give him a lot of trouble. Their only interested in him for his money, so I think he tries to keep them at a distance by being rude."

"He's never even met me before though." She responded, still vexed by the raven haired boys attitude.

"I know. It's sort of an automatic reaction for him. Just give it some time."

Sakura sighed in defeat, and released the tension from her hands.

"I get it. I have a hard time letting people in too."

"He's actually got several friends at school." Naruto explained. "I think it's just girls that make him more guarded than usual."

"I wonder why." She mused.

"Who knows?" He shrugged. "Now lets go or we're going to be late for our first day!"

"Okay." She agreed, deciding she would have to take her breakfast to-go.

* * *

 **So what did you guys think of Sasuke? I've always felt like he'll be the hardest character for me to write. Especially since his personality is so different from mine, but I hope I did an okay job. I know that Sakura seems to have a lot of meltdowns in this chapter too, but I found them necessary. Her parents death was such a traumatic experience for her I figured there was no way she could return to the hospital for the first time and be perfectly fine. Anyways, let me know what you guys think and thanks for reading!**


	4. Use Your Words

**There quite a few new characters introduced in this chapter so I hope you all enjoy that.**

 **Slight violence**

 **Flashbacks are still in italics**

* * *

Walking through the doors of Konoha Academy for the first time Sakura was vastly aware of the number of eyes on her, but paid it no mind. She'd never much cared about what others thought of her. Especially, those that knew absolutely nothing about her. She had long ago come to accept that people were going to judge and critique each other on insignificant matters. High school was a writhing mass made up of such people. It didn't scare her, but she wasn't thrilled by the rumors that would inevitably spread from her showing up with Sasuke and Naruto on her first day.

Glancing at the students around her she began to weed out those who were looking out of pure curiosity, the ones who were shocked that Sasuke had walked in with a girl, and the ones who seemed to be glaring at her with pure hatred. The last group was made up entirely of girls that appeared to be in the same grade as her. Judging by the enormous waves of jealousy radiating off them Sakura concluded that these must be Sasuke's "fangirls."

"What a lovely group of admirers you have Sasuke." She joked.

He just scowled for a response and kept walking. Sakura let out a soft giggle at his obvious discomfort. This caused his fans to glare even harder in her direction.

'Jeez. If looks could kill..."Sakura thought.

What his fans didn't know however, was that she and Sasuke were barely tolerating each others presence at this moment. They only thing holding them together was Naruto, who'd been playing referee all morning...

 _Sliding into the back of Naruto's car Sakura had planned to just keep silent for the duration of the ride to school, but Sasuke apparently had a different plan in mind because he spoke to her as soon as he'd gotten comfortable in the front seat._

 _"I don't care what you do today." He said in a scolding tone, not even bothering to turn around and face her. "Just don't do anything that could possibly embarrass my family while your staying with us, and don't expect me to be nice to you just because your friends with Itachi."_

 _"I wouldn't dream of it." Sakura replied sarcastically._

 _"Guys," Naruto began. "we're all friends here. Lets just get along."_

 _"Speak for yourself dobe." Sasuke returned, gazing out of his window with a scowl._

 _"Ass." muttered Sakura, and watched as Sasuke stiffened at the comment but remained silent._

 _'I can't believe he thinks I'm so socially inept that I would do something to embarass his family on the first day of school.' Sakura thought to herself. 'He hasn't even known me for five minutes.'_

 _ **'You did sort of gawk at him like a loser a little while ago. Maybe that's why he thinks you'll do something stupid.' Her inner commented.**_

 _'I don't like you right now.'_

 _ **'Why? Because I'm right?' Inner teased.**_

 _'No...maybe...okay, yes.' Sakura admitted grumpily._

The rest of the ride had gone somewhat smoother since Naruto did all the talking from that point on. He'd tried to include the both of them, but couldn't find a topic that interested the duo. Eventually he'd given up and just turned on the radio.

Returning her thoughts to the present Sakura found that they had arrived at a classroom on the second floor. She and Naruto had previously discovered that the three of them all had the same homeroom. While Naruto was beyond pleased with the idea, Sakura was more than skeptical. Living in the same house caused them to spend more than enough time together already, and judging from Sasuke's attitude he agreed.

'I think his head might explode if he finds out we have another class together.'

Sighing, Sakura looked around to find an empty seat and was suprised to discover that many were already taken. The classroom was a frenzy of constant movement and noise. The whole room almost seemed to hum with energy. Many students were catching up with friends over Summer escapades, or talking about their plans for the school year.

Spotting a place in the back next to a girl with long dark hair, Sakura began to make to make her way over when a hand suddenly grasped her wrist. Glancing up she met Naruto's soulful blue eyes.

"Aren't you going to sit with me and Sasuke?" He asked confused.

Giving him a small smile Sakura shook her head. "I'm grateful for you being so kind to me Naruto, but if I stick next to you forever I'll never make friends on my own."

"I guess your right," He frowned. "but I'm here if you need me."

"Thanks. I'm sure I'll be okay though."

With that Sakura gently removed her wrist from Naruto's fingers and once again headed towards the back of the room. Upon reaching her destination she pulled out her chair next to the girl she'd noticed and sat down. After a few moments of silence she decided to take some initiative, and turned in her chair to introduce herself.

"Hi. My name's Sakura. What's yours?"

Large light blue eyes met hers hesitantly. If Naurto's eyes were like the ocean, shining bright with emotion, then this girls were like a smooth stone at the bottom of a river, cool and soothing. Sakura felt a calmness wash over her just by being in the girls presence. Her long hair fell right below her shoulder blades, and thick bangs sat just above her eyes, framing her face perfectly. A slight blush settled upon her cheeks, and she shyly looked away.

"M-my name is H-Hinata. It's v-very nice t-t-to meet you." She stuttered out.

Sakura just smiled at her in encouragement. She decided that she liked the quiet girl already. It was clear Hinata was a very kind person, although shy to the point that she could barely carry a conversation. Most people probably mistook her shyness for rudeness. It happened to Sakura on more than one occasion when she was younger. Eventually, she'd broken the bad habit and decided to put forth more effort into getting to know others. Sakura had made many friends in Seattle that she was devastated to have to leave behind, but they'd sent her off with warm smiles and the belief that returning to New York City would be a good thing for her.

Making up her mind in that moment, Sakura concluded that she was going to help this girl overcome her shyness. She just wasn't sure how to go about it quite yet, but figured that becoming friends with her would obviously be a good start.

"It's nice to meet you too, Hinata. Today is my first day here so I'm glad I found someone as kind as you to sit next to on my first try." Sakura confessed.

"Oh. S-so your t-the new s-s-student that everyone h-has been talking a-about?" Hinata asked.

"I guess so. Although, I'm surprised so many people knew about me since _I_ didn't even know I'd be enrolling here until a few weeks ago."

"I-it's because of S-Sasuke Uchiha. Everyone knows w-what's g-going on with h-him at all t-times. Especially, the g-g-girls here."

"I see. That must get annoying, having all those people invading your privacy. It's no wonder Sasuke's such a grouch."

Hinata couldn't help but giggle at that, which caused Sakura to feel a moment of triumph.

"Most girls h-here love e-everything Sasuke d-does. I'm surprised y-you d-don't."

"Definitely not." Sakura confirmed. "What about you though? Do you have a thing for him too?"

Hinata shook her head in immediate denial.

"One o-of his f-f-friends actually." Hinata said shyly.

"No way!" Sakura exclaimed. "I probably don't know him since I'm new here. What's his name though?"

"Um..."

Noticing the girls hesitation Sakura realized she may have crossed a line trying to ask such a personal question.

"I'm sorry." She said before Hinata could answer. "Here I was just talking about how rude it is for people to invade others privacy and I'm already trying to know things about your personal life. You don't have to tell me."

Hinata smiled at her in gratitude. Sakura could hardly believe she'd asked such a tactless question right off the bat. She knew better than most how uncomfortable it could be when people tried to pry. It wasn't easy trying to tell them no without being rude. She certainly didn't want to put Hinata in that position.

Returning her smile with one of her own Sakura faced the front of the classroom as their teacher ambled in. Glancing at the clock she noticed he was ten minutes late.

'How annoying. I hope this isn't a regular thing for him.'

* * *

The shrill sound of a whistle being blown carried through the crips Fall air, signaling for them to begin their laps around the schools outdoor track.

Sakura kept a steady pace staying in line with Tenten, who she'd met at the beginning of P.E. She was a few inches taller than herself, with brown hair that she kept pulled back into two buns on either side of her head, rich chocolate brown eyes, and an easy smile. Sakura had challenged herself to try and make at least one friend in each of her classes, but before she even looked at the other students around her Tenten had walked right up and introduced herself. She made a joke about hoping Sakura wasn't another one of those girls that was worried about ruining her hair and make-up during gym. She'd casually replied that she didn't even own the stuff. It was too much effort to put in so early in the morning. Tenten had laughed and remarked that she thought they would get along just fine.

"How are you not even breaking a sweat right now?" Sakura asked after a few laps.

"I run Cross Country so this is nothing to me, but I'm surprised your doing so well. Most of the other girls can barely keep up." Tenten explained.

"I work out," Sakura admitted. "but apparently it's nothing that would prepare me for Cross Country."

"It's definitely not for everyone." Tenten agreed. "I've always enjoyed it though. Staying active is the only thing that keeps me sane. I don't see how these other girls can just sit around and do nothing. It would kill me."

"Everyone is different. I'm sure they're just as baffled by us." Sakura reasoned.

"Your right I suppose." Tenten surmised. "So, what do you do?"

"Huh?" Sakura asked, confused.

"You said you work out. What do you do?"

"Oh. I do kickboxing three times a week, and I'll go to the occasional yoga class. I was told that an outlett might help with controling my anger, so I've been doing that for the past five years now. I guess I'll have to find a new gym now that I've moved though."

"You should try the one I go to." Tenten suggested. "I'll take you some time if you want."

"I'd like that. Thanks." Sakura smiled.

"Alright! Everyone take a quick break and then we're spliting into two teams for a game of soccer!" The gym teacher announced.

"What's up with him?" Sakura asked. "He's seems weirdly enthusiastic about fitness."

"Mr. Guy? I suppose he is a little obsessed, but most of us are use to it by now. You'll adjust."

"I hope so."

"Tenten!" a shaggy haired boy with bushy eyebrows, who eerily resembled the teacher, yelled running up to them.

"Oh hey Lee. What's up?" She inquired.

"I just wanted to let you know that Cross Country practice has been canceled tonight." He informed her.

"How come?"

"I'm not sure. Neji just wanted me to tell you."

"Alright. I suppose that gives me more time to do homework tonight then." She mused, unaware that Lee had finally noticed Sakura's presence and was openly staring.

"It's Lee right? My name's Sakura." She introduced with a smile, holding out her hand.

However, the boy paid no attention to her gesture and just blinked repeatedly.

"Lee?" Tenten asked, waving her hand in his face. "You okay?"

Still recieving no response Tenten stepped in his line of sight, effectively breaking his view of Sakura and snapping him out of his daze.

"What's up with you?" Tenten questioned. "Why are you acting so wierd?"

"I'm sorry." Lee responded. "She's just so beautiful."

Sakura immediately blushed at his comment, and wondered if this is what Sasuke felt like when she had been staring at him so intently this morning. If he had it was no wonder he'd gotten the wrong impression.

"Way to make things awkward Lee. Now she's never going to want to talk to you." Tenten grumbled in frustration.

"No. It's okay." Sakura interjected. "I'm just not use to such straightforward compliments."

Before Tenten or Lee could respond the whistle sounded once more, informing them it was time for teams to be picked.

* * *

"I am so sorry about Lee." Tenten apologized. "I swear he's not usually like that."

The rest of P.E. had been something of an adventure for Sakura. When Lee had been put on the same team as her he'd continued with his flirtatous compliments and stuck to her side like glue for the duration of class. He'd even waited for her outside of the locker rooms, but Tenten sent him off, saying that she needed to talk to Sakura privately about an important matter, and that she didn't want him listening in on thier conversation. He walked away promising that he would find Sakura again before the day was over.

"It's really alright." Sakura promised. "It's actually kind of flattering to have an admirer. No wonder it goes to Sasuke's head." She lightly laughed.

"Speaking of." Tenten informed her. "His fan club is giving you the evil eye."

Glancing down the hall Sakura saw that there was indeed a small cluster of girls gathered in a corner whispering and occasionally sending hateful looks in her direction.

"Yeah. They've been doing that since we walked into school together this morning." Sakura sighed.

Tenten let out a low whistle. "No wonder your on their shit list. Sasuke's never shown up with anyone but Naruto the past three years. They'd probably kill to be in your position."

"Yeah, and I'd kill to be out of it."

"Not a fan?" She asked with a smirk.

"I'm trying not to be a quick judge of character, but he's been nothing but rude since we met this morning."

"Try not to worry about that too much. It's kind of his MO." Tenten said, trying to lighten her mood. "This is where I leave you though. Your Chemistry class should be right down this hall. It's the last door on the left."

"So in other words, I'm going to have to walk past all of those girls down there that look like they want to kill me?" Sakura gathered.

"Basically." Tenten nodded. "Good luck." And then proceeded to walk in the opposite direction.

'Great.' Sakura thought glumly. 'I'm not even half way through the school day and I already have people here who hate me.'

Deciding the situation was unavoidable Sakura began her trek to Chemisty hoping the girls wouldn't bother her. She didn't want yet another reason to resent Sasuke for comparing her to them this morning. She was only a few yards away when their whispers reached her ears.

"I heard she's living with them." One informed, refeering to the Uchiha family.

"Why?" Another asked jealously. "Is she a foriegn exchange student or something?"

"No." Yet another girl answered. "I heard it's because her parents abandoned her when she was a child. They gave her to her aunt or something and never saw her again."

The surrounding girls hung onto her every word. It was clear she was the ringleader of thier little group.

"It's clear she thinks she's better than everyone else." The girl, a redhead, continued. "Did she you see how she's been hanging all over Sasuke today? Her parents probably didn't want to deal with such a selfish, hateful child. I would have given her up too."

Sakura had ceased her steps upon hearing their theory that her parents had abandoned her as a child. She felt loathing fill her entire being, quick and dark. She threw her bag off of her shoulder and turned to face the group of girls she had passed. With clenched fists and eyes that saw red she approached them, her target being the redhead who had spoken so rudely of her dead parents.

"What the hell is your problem?" Sakura asked, pushing said girl into the wall behind her. "What exactly did I do to piss you off so much that you'd resort to being such a lowlife bitch, huh?"

"Don't be mad at me just because your parents left you behind." She responded, pushing her small glasses further up her nose, trying to appear unaffected by Sakura's anger. "It's not my fault they didn't want you."

"You'll regret that." Sakura growled, grabbing the girl by the hair at the nape of her neck and effectively tossing her into the lockers on the other side of the small hallway.

"I never did anything to you!" Sakura yelled, and then proceeded to smash the girls face into one of the many lockers before them, then heard a satisfying crunch signaling that she'd broken the girls nose. Suddenly a pair of hands grabbed her by the arms and began to pull her backwards, but she barely noticed.

"And my parents didn't abandon me." Sakura spat out. "They were murdered."

In the back of her mind she had noticed that a large crowd had gathered to watch the scene in hallway, and several eyes widened in shock upon hearing her confession. Sakura continued to be slowly pulled away by the pair of hands and decided not to fight them, suddenly feeling all the anger drain out of her, only to be replaced by sorrow.

"I thought I told you not to do anything that would embarass my family." A low voice spoke in her ear.

Whirling around Sakura found that the hands that had brabbed her belonged to none other than Sasuke Uchiha. Feeling her anger return to her with a vengeance, she shouldered pass him and headed towards the nearest exit.

"Where do you think your going?" He demanded.

"I don't know, and frankly I don't care." Sakura answered. "I just know I can't be here."

"You can't just leave."

"Watch me." She replied, thrusting a door open and walking into the Autumn breeze. She heard Sasuke's footsteps following closely behind her, and was spun around coming face to face with the irate Uchiha.

"I get why your angry," He reasoned. "but walking out won't solve anything. So just go back inside."

"You get it?" Sakura asked, baffled. "You really think you understand why I'm upset? Your parents are still alive Sasuke! You couldn't possibly understand what I'm going through."

"Damn it! Would you just listen to me?" He shouted.

"Why?" She demanded. "So I don't damage your precious reputation? This may come as quite a surprise to you, but I don't really give a damn." And with that Sakura turned away preparing to continue her journey into the unknown, but didn't make it very far. Apparently, being completely fed up with her attitude, Sasuke had stopped her once more and then tossed her over his shoulder and began to carry her back inside.

"What the hell do you think your doing?" Sakura yelled at his backside.

"I'm taking you back inside where you belong, and if you try to leave again I'll just continue to drag you back."

"Whatever." Sakura huffed. "I'm probably going to get suspended anyways after breaking that girls nose."

"Don't worry about that. Just leave Karin to me."

After returning them both to the warmth of the academys interior, Sasuke slid Sakura off of his shoulder and dumped her on a bench outside of the front office. Karin's yells could be heard through the thin walls, complaining that now her nose would be crooked forever.

'Good.' Sakura thought spitefully. 'She deserves it.'

"Wait here." Sasuke said, pausing a moment to make sure she wasn't going to make another run for it.

"I won't move." Sakura promised. "I probably wouldn't get very far anyways."

With a slight nod Sasuke walked into the office, and she could hear his low voice reasoning with whoever Karin had been talking to, although she couldn't make out his words. Taking in her surroundings for the first time Sakura noticed that the crowd that had been watching her fight with Karin had apparently followed to watch her disagreement with Sasuke.

'Which means they saw him manhandle me.' Sakura thought, rubbing the spot between her eyebrows in frustration. 'I'm never going to live this down.'

"Sakura?" A voice asked hesitantly, only moments later.

Opening her eyes she saw Naruto standing in front of her holding the bag that she'd thrown to the ground before all of the commotion.

"Hey Naruto. Thanks for grabbing my bag. I forgot all about it."

"What happened?" He questioned, handing it back to her. "I came downstairs just in time to see Sasuke carting you over his shoulder. Is everything okay?"

Sakura quietly told him everything that had occured, trying keep her voice low enough that prying ears couldn't overhear. They may know that she and Karin had gotten in a fight, but they didn't necessarily know why.

"Wow." Naruto said in shock. "You really broke her nose?"

"Yeah." Sakura said sheepishly.

"That's hilarious!" He bellowed with laughter. "I wish I could have seen that."

"You don't like her?"

"No way!" He grimaced. "She's so annoying, following Sasuke around everywhere. She'll call his phone and leave these awful voicemails, and she's never been nice to me. Although, she's never been as rude as she was to you."

"I'm sorry." Sakura apologized.

"Don't be." Naruto assured her. "Sasuke's wanted to hit her for years now, but he would never do that to a girl. Your probably his favorite person at the moment."

"I doubt it." She argued.

At that moment the office door opened and out walked Karin, holding a small ice pack to her bloody nose, followed closely by Sasuke and an old man with spiky gray hair, and wrinkled skin whom she could only assume was the principal. He told the surrounding students to proceed to class unless they wanted detention.

"Let's go." Sasuke said approaching them. "We're late for class."

"Aren't I suspended?" Sakura wondered.

"No. I told him it was self-defense. You do have detention for the next week though."

"But surely Karin would have told him what really happened..."

"She would never argue with me. I explained the situation to the principal, and she agreed. Now lets go."

"But.." She began again.

"I said, let's go. No more questions."

Sakura hesitated, but followed Sasuke after a moment with Naruto right by her side.

* * *

After finally being let out of detention Sakura made her way to the student parking lot where Sasuke and Naruto, along with Hinata were waiting for her. She slid into the back seat for the second time that day, and turned to address them.

"Thanks for waiting on me." Sakura spoke to everyone in the car. "I'll have to come up with a different way to school for the rest of the week so you all aren't stuck waiting on me every day."

"We don't mind to wait." Naruto assured her. "Right Sasuke?"

"Hn."

"Come on Sasuke," Sakura teased. "Use your words."

"Whatever." He responded. "Can we just go now?"

With that Naruto drove away from the school and headed towards the Uchiha manor. Once they'd reached thier destination Sakura had shown Hinata the way to her room, and immediately began to change into something more comfortable. Minutes later she emerged from her closet in a pair of leggings and a thin turquoise sweater that fell to mid-thigh.

"So, where do you think we should start on this English assignment?" Sakura asked Hinata.

The class had been split up into pairs and were required to fill out a sheet they'd all recieved. It contained questions that needed to be answered by your partner and they were suppose to present them to the class three days from now. The questions were relatively simple, but the depth of your answers could vary depending on how much you wanted to reveal.

"I c-can go f-f-first if you w-want." Hinata offered.

"Sure." Sakura said enthusiastically.

The two girls set to work, with Sakura asking the quesitons and Hinata answering them as best she could. By the time they'd reached the end of the paper Sakura had learned that Hinata secretly loved to paint, but according to her she wasn't very good at it. She also loved to cook and more often than not made lunches for herself and her cousin, Neji, to take to school. Hinata lived on a large estate, much like Uchiha manor, but spent her weekends out of the city at a horse farm, where she would spend most of the day riding until she had to return home. The list went on and on, and Sakura was surprised by more things that she thought she would be. She figured that Hinata would be one of those girls that stayed home and read books all day, but she was very adventerous, always wanting to try new things.

"Well, I think that just about covers it. We can do mine tomorrow. I'm sure your family is expecting you home soon."

"M-most likely." She agreed.

"Would you like for me to ask Naruto to drive you home?" Sakura offered.

"No!" She exclaimed, turning a bright shade of red. "I mean...t-that's alright. My c-c-cousin is p-picking me up."

"Are you sure? Naruto's already here. I know he wouldn't mind." She promised.

"I-I'm sure." Hinata said, still blushing profusely.

"Are you okay?" Sakura asked, slightly worried. "Do you not like Naruto for some reason?"

"No." She reassured. "H-he's always b-been very k-kind to me."

"Then what's the problem?" Sakura asked, really confused now.

"It's h-hard for me t-to talk to h-him when w-we're a-alone."

Sakura was about to ask her why when she suddenly understood. Hinata's consistent blushing every time Naruto's name was mentioned, her silence in the car earlier, and her admission that she had feelings for one of Sasuke's friends.

"You like him." Sakura concluded. "But that's great. Naruto's such a nice guy. Have you ever tried to see if he feels the same way?"

Hinata shook her head in denial.

"I'm t-too shy to d-do s-something like t-that. Besides, N-Naruto would never l-like someone like m-me."

"That's not true!" Sakura practically shouted, causing the other girl to slightly cringe.

"Sorry," She apologized. "but Naruto's not like that. It never hurts to look into it."

"M-maybe." Hinata shrugged noncommitally. "My cousin i-is probably h-h-here by now t-though. I s-should go."

"Okay." She reluctantly agreed, and got up to walk her to the door.

After waving her friend goodbye Sakura made her way through the house looking for the boys. She finally found them downstairs in the basement, which had been converted into an oppulent game room. It housed a pool table, air hockey table, every gaming console you could think of, along with enough games that they filled a bookshelf that spanned the back wall. A large stereo system sat in the corner, and the speakers were pulsing with the sounds of whatever game the two boys happened to be playing. Coming up behind them and leaning on the back of the couch Sakura placed her head next to Naurto's.

"Hey Naruto?"

"Yeah?" He asked, staring at the big screen television, completely immersed in the game.

"Could I talk to you for a minute?" She asked sweetly.

"Um, is it important? I'm kind of in the middle of something right now." He replied still not looking at her.

Sasuke's voice spoke before she could respond.

"Your interrupting our game." He said, slightly annoyed.

"Fine." She grumbled, coming around to the front of the couch to sit between the two boys. "I'll wait."

"Sorry Sakura." Naruto apologized. "We just have to beat this boss, and then we'll be done."

"Okay." She said, relaxing into the soft cushions.

She sat and watched as they died and repeatedly went back to face the same boss only to fail eight more times.

"This is ridiculous. You guys will never win at this rate."

"Your interrupting again." Sasuke spoke, his eyes never leaving the screen.

"Jeez. Give it here." Sakura said, snatching the controler out of Sasuke's hands taking over his role in the game.

He went to steal the it back, but Sakura deftly kept it out of his reach. After a minute he decided to sit back and watch her fail, only to see her fingers moving nimbly over the controler and enacting combos with a speed he could barely follow. He looked back up at the screen just in time to see her deal the final blow and effectively kill the boss that he'd been trying the past half hour to defeat.

"There," She said returning the controler at last. "Now I'm not interrupting."

"That was awesome!" Naruto declared. "How'd you do that Sakura?"

"It's pretty easy when you've already beaten level fifty." She replied with a shrug. "Now come with me. I still need to talk to you."

"Okay. See you later Sasuke." He said to the dumbfounded boy over his shoulder as he walked out of the room behind Sakura.

* * *

"What's all this about?" Naruto asked now that they had made it onto the back patio.

"Don't get the wrong idea," Sakura began. "but do like any of the girls at school?"

"Are you trying to ask me out?" The blond grinned.

"I'm being serious Naruto. Just answer the question."

"Well," He said, getting back to the task at hand. "I guess I've never really thought about it. I have a lot of friends that are girls."

"Like who?" She inquired, hoping that he would name Hinata.

"You for one."

"Besides me." She urged.

"Temari, Tenten, Ino, and Hinata too. Why? What's this about?"

"Would you ever consider dating any of them?" Sakura ventured, praying he wouldn't put two and two together and discover she was trying to set him up with Hinata.

"Maybe." Naruto mused. "Their all really pretty."

Sakura let out a light groan. Of course that's what he would think about.

Noticing her reaction he immediately began to backtrack.

"And nice. Thier all really nice too...and smart now that I think about it."

"That's a good start I suppose." Sakura said under her breath, deciding to leave things there for now.

"Thanks Naurto. That was all I needed to know."

"No problem." He smiled. "I'll see you tomorrow morning, okay?"

"See you then." Sakura nodded before heading back inside.

After locking the door she made her way into the kitchen, deciding she wasn't all that hungry and just wanted a light snack. Rounding the corner she saw Sasuke sitting on one of the stools eating a slice of pizza.

"There's more on top of the stove if your hungry." He offered.

"Thanks." She said, startled by his kindness. "I'm sorry for today at school by the way. I didn't mean to do anything that would reflect badly on your family after everything they've done for me. I just kind of lost it when I heard Karin talking about my parents."

"It's fine." He returned, placing his now clear plate into the dishwasher. "I shouldn't have expected so much from you anyways. It was obviously beyond your capabilities."

Sakura's jaw slightly dropped open. She thought they were finally making some progress and then he had to turn around and say _that._

"Your so...so..." She started, but couldn't seem to finish.

"What?" Sasuke smirked.

"Can't you use your words Sakura?" He mocked.

"Ugh!" She screamed, throwing a nearby salt and pepper shaker at his head, which he neatly dogged.

"Your so annoying!" She finally managed to call after him, as he left the kitchen,and she heard him let out a small chuckle.

* * *

 **I didn't really get much of a reaction on my last chapter. Which, I'll admit, was pretty disappointing considering how much effort I put into it. I tried to write this as fast as I could in the hopes of getting a better response, but it took me longer than I would have liked to actually put everything together. Thank you so much to the people that did review the last chapter. Your words are what help motivate me to keep writing, so I really appreciate it. I hope you all enjoy this chapter, and please, please, please review!**


	5. Confessions

**I warn you now that this is a very emotionally centered chapter. I tried my best to stay true to all of the characters, but it's hard when your writing things they would never do in the show. I also wanted to thank everyone for the wonderful feedback I got on my last chapter. I appreciate it! I hope you like this one as much as the last.**

* * *

"I swear if you all didn't look so similar I'd say there's no way your related." Sakura said into the phone. "Your so nice, and he's...not."

"He just takes some getting use to." Itach assured her. "I am sorry though. I thought you all would get along much better than this."

"It's fine." she sighed. "When are you going to be home? I'm not sure how much longer I can stand it being just the two of us."

"We'll be a few more days. My parents just have loose ends to tie up here and then we'll be headed home. I promise."

"Thank God." Sakura let out a breath of relief.

"Do me a favor?" Itachi asked.

"Sure."

"Give him another chance. He can be stubborn, but your both good people." He pleaded. "I know it's selfish, but I'd prefeer to not have to get in the middle. I don't want to take sides."

A part of her wanted to say no. There was absolutely no possible way that she could get along with the younger Uchiha, but this was Itachi. He never asked for anything, and it was obvious he cared deeply for his little brother. As much as she wanted to tell Sasuke to shove it where the sun doesn't shine she would do this for Itachi.

"Why do you have to be so hard to say no to?" Sakura groaned into the phone.

"Thank you. I'll be home soon."

She could practically feel Itachi's smile on the other end. Already she was regretting her decision.

"You better be."

All she heard was his light laughter before the line went dead. Itachi had flown out of state to meet up with his parents for an important business meeting. He'd barely been gone two days, but Sakura already felt his absence like a piece of her was missing.

'I'll try for him,' Sakura thought doubtfully. 'but I honestly don't see Sasuke cooperating in this matter.'

She slowly made her way downstairs, heading towards the poolhouse hoping that that a swim might help with her sour mood. She'd planned to volunteer at the hospital, but Tsunade had taken one look at her bloodshot eyes that housed dark circles underneath from lack of sleep, and told her to stay home and rest.

'I'd love to sleep if I could, but those damn nightmares keep me awake.'

Opening the door Sakura was immediately hit with the scent of chlorine and a wave of humidity that made her hair curl. She planned on floating in the pool to relax, but knew that was no longer an option when she heard Naruto's laughter as he splashed around.

"Oh hey Sakura!" He greeted. "Hop in. It feels great."

"Not that I mind," She began. "but don't you have a home of your own?"

She heard a light scoff and glanced over to find Sasuke sitting in the corner on one of the many beach chairs surrounding the large pool. He was laying flat on his back with his arms resting behind his head, and his eyes were shut. If he hadn't made any noise she probably would have thought he was asleep. His position gave Sakura the perfect view of him, and boy what a view it was. She thought he looked good clothed, but this was much better. She could clearly make out his scuplted abdomen which rose and fell with his breathing. She also noticed the definition of the arms he had curled under his head. She figured he could throw her half way across the pool if he wanted.

 **'Damn that boy looks good shirtless.' Inner practically salivated.**

'Can't you focus on anything else?' Sakura reprimanded. 'Like his terrible personality for instance?'

 **'Nah. You do that enough for the both of us.'**

'Whatever.'

"Now you sound like Sasuke." Naruto whined. "I thought you liked me Sakura."

"I take it back." She instantly swore. "Just don't compare me to him, please."

"Hn." Sasuke mumbled in agreement.

"I thought you volunteered at the hospital on weekends ?" Naruto asked her curiously. "Did you not feel like going today?"

"I tried." She confessed. "Aunt Tsunade told me to stay home and rest. She said I wouldn't be any help in my condition."

"Why don't you go sleep then? If your tired you don't have to hangout with us."

"It's...complicated."

At her comment Naruto had looked at her with a confused expresion, and even Sasuke had opened his eyes and peeked at her.

"I can't sleep." She finally admitted.

"Why not?" Naruto asked, concerned.

Sakura hesitated. She didn't mind to tell Naruto. He'd been so understanding from the moment they'd met, but she could still feel Sasuke's gaze on her. She knew he'd be quick to judge, and it wasn't something she wanted to deal with today. As much as she'd tried to deny it earlier with Tsunade, she was exhausted. She wasn't sure she could handle an argument with him right now, but Naruto was staring up at her with those piercing blue eyes he had, and suddenly it just came tumbling out.

"I have nightmares. Bad ones. I use to get them a lot as a kid, but they stopped after I moved to Seattle. I was doing fine until I found out we were moving back here. Now I'll only get a few hours of sleep every several days."

Naurto opened his mouth to respond, no doubt with words of comfort, but another voice spoke first.

"All of that because of a few nightmares?" He asked sarcasitcally. "It can't possibly be that bad."

Sakura felt her shoulders sag. She knew it was too much to ask for him to just stay silent and let her have a conversation with Naruto. She shook her head sadly and turned around, walking out the way she'd came.

'Not today.' She thought tiredly. 'I just can't do it today.'

As soon as the door closed behind her the blond in the pool turned to glare at his friend.

"Your my best friend Sasuke," He said climbing out of the water. "but you can be a real bastard sometimes."

Grabbing a towl and drying off as he walked, Naruto headed after Sakura hoping she wasn't too upset by the raven haired boys words. He had to run very carefully to not slip on the dark hardwood floors of the house, but he finally caught up to her in the living room. Without saying a word he put an arm around her shoulders and guided her to the couch.

"I'm sorry Sakura." He said sincerely. "There was no reason for that. Just say the word and I'll go punch him square in the jaw."

Looking up at her friend she thought that he actually would follow through with his words if he honestly thought it would make her feel better.

"I'm not really upset. I just don't get why he hates me so much."

They sat in silence for a few minutes as the blond thought over her words. Sakura thought she'd never seen him look so serious before. Naruto was constantly smiling and in a good mood. She prefeered that side of him. Seeing him put so much thought into something reminded her of Itachi. He never said or did anything without a lot of thought put behind it. Sakura felt a small smile form on her lips at the thought of comparing Naruto to Itachi.

'I'll have to tell him about that when he gets home.' She thought. 'He'll think it's pretty funny.'

"I don't think he hates you." Naruto finally declared. "If anything I think he's afraid of you."

"Me?" She asked shocked. "But why?"

"The only girls that Sasuke has ever known are pretty selfish. They want to be with him because of his looks, and money, or the power that comes with his familys name. In the short time you've spent together he's realized you aren't like that." Naruto confessed. "Everything you do is about helping others. Your kind and you sacrifice a lot to make others happy. The only reason you came back here was because of your aunt, right?"

Sakura could only stare at him in surprise. She had no idea Naruto could be so astute.

"She got that job, and you didn't have the heart to tell her that coming back here, back _home_ , would be too hard on you. He'll never admit it, but Sasuke sees those things, and it draws him in without even realizing it. He could really care about you, and I think that scares him. The only people he's ever let in are his family. Having someone new come into your life and make you feel things that you don't want to...I think it aggrivates him because he can't control it, and he takes that out on you."

"Wow." She whispered. "That was...really insightful, Naruto."

"You think?" He grinned sheepishly.

"Definitely." She nodded.

"Are you going to be okay?" He asked, serious once more. "I don't mean Sasuke, but the nightmares. Are they really that bad?"

"Yeah. I let it slip to Itachi when I first came here, but I played it off and told him I would be fine. I think if he actually knew how bad it was he would have sent me to get help."

"Does Tsunade know?"

"She did," Sakura explained. "but only at first. I didn't tell her I was having them again after we moved back. I didn't want to worry her."

"Can you tell me...what they're about?" Naruto asked hesitantly.

"My parents. They start off normal enough, giving me a false sense of hope I suppose. I'm five years old again, and I'll be with my parents out playing in the snow or baking cookies. It's always close to Christmas day in my nightmares." She told him, a sad smile on her lips. "We'll be so happy, and then suddenly their gone and I'm standing in the street crying over thier bodies. Their so charred I don't even recognize them, but somehow I know I'm looking at my parents. The worst ones are when I'm there with them, inside of the ambulance. They'll be taking such good care of this girl, and then suddenly she starts laughing. It's so...menacing, and her eyes are so big and wild. No one else notices I'm there, but she does. It only makes her laugh more, then everything just explodes, and I'll wake up. I can never get back to sleep after that."

"I...don't know what to say." Naruto admitted. "I had no idea it was this bad for you."

"What's really sad is that I'll always try to sleep anyway. Just so I can see them once more, even if it's just for a minute, and even if they...aren't...real."

"I'm sorry I asked." He apologized. "I didn't mean to make you tell me all of that."

"Don't be. I'm happy someone finally knows. It makes me feel lighter somehow."

"I glad." He said. "You should tell Tsunade though. She might be able to help you."

"Your right. I just get tired of the medications, and Dr. appointments. I feel like they're struggling to put me back together or something, when they don't even have all the pieces."

"Don't you want to be a doctor some day?"

"Yeah. It's ironic I know." She laughed. "I must really be messed up."

Naruto shook his head. "No. You've just been through a lot."

Sakura laid her head on his shoulder, grateful that she'd made a friend like Naruto so early on. She wasn't sure what she would have done without all of his encouragement and support. He wrapped his arms around her shoulders and just held her for a while. Neither noticed the figure standing in the shadows who'd heard every word.

* * *

After Naruto had made sure Sakura was alright they went into the theater down the hall from the living room to watch a movie. They'd decided on a comedy after their conversation hoping it would help alleviate some of their sudden depression. Naruto told Sakura he was going to change out of his swim trunks and make some popcorn then he'd be right back. In reality he was on a scavenger hunt for his best friend to give him a piece of his mind.

Eventually he found him in his bedroom sitting at his desk doing what appeared to be homework. Walking over, Naruto stood next to him waiting for him to acknowledge his presence. When several minutes had gone by and neither said a word he grabbed the textbook Sasuke had been studying and slammed it shut. This finally caused the Uchiha to turn in his chair and glare up at the blond in defiance.

"You don't have to like her," Naruto began, aggrivated so much he was trembling. "but you could at least stop saying such rude things to her. She's been through a lot, and she's still going through a lot. She's going through things you couldn't possibly understand and-"

"I know." Sasuke said quietly, cutting him off.

"What do you mean?" He demanded.

"I heard you all talking earlier." Sasuke confessed, and turned away from his friends penetrating gaze. "I know..."

Naruto continued to study Sasuke, noticing the way he couldn't look him in the eye, and decided to tell him everything he knew. He just hoped Sakura would't be too mad at him later.

"That's only part of it." Naruto said, staring him down. "Did you know she has panic attacks? The first time I met her she was running out the hospital crying so hard she could barely see. I caught her right before she passed out on the pavement. She says their caused by extreme amounts of stress. You have no idea how hard it is for her to be back here and you just continue to make things worse for her."

Sasuke continued to stare at the wall over Naruto's shoulder as if he hadn't heard him.

"What's wrong with you?" Naruto sighed. "You usually ignore everyone. Why are you so hard on her?"

"I have my reasons."

"Like what?" Naruto inquired.

Sasuke finally looked him in the eyes and the anger he saw there shocked Naruto. Sasuke rarely lost his cool. That was one of the things he'd always admired about him. He always kept his emotions in check. That's why Naruto went to him for advice. Sasuke was rational in his thinking...at least most of the time.

"That's none of your concern." The tone of his words not matching the dark expression he had on his face.

"Whatever." Naruto said, and headed towards the door. Once he reached the opening he paused, looking at his friend once more over his shoulder.

"You might be able to fool everyone else, but I know you Sasuke. After hearing everything she said you feel guilty...and you should."

And with those last words the blond returned back downstairs and began to make the popcorn he'd promised Sakura.

* * *

Several days had gone by since the incident at the pool, and she'd barley seen Sasuke since. They passed each other on the stairs the day before and that was the last she'd seen of him. However, Itachi and his parents were going to be home any minute and she was sure he'd come to greet them. If Sasuke cared about anyone, it was his family. Anyone could see the love they had for each other.

At that moment the doorknob turned and the door was pushed open. Sakura jumped off of the couch where she'd been sitting and ran across the room just in time for Itachi to pull in his suitcase.

"Itachi!" She yelled, jumping to wrap her arms around his neck. "I'm so glad your back. I was going crazy being stuck here without you."

"It's nice to see you too, Sakura." He chuckled, hugging her back. "Where's Sasuke?"

"I'm not sure. I haven't seen him since yesterday afternoon."

At that moment they heard noise coming from the stairwell, signaling that someone was coming up from the basement.

"I'm here." Sasuke said, appearing at the top of the staircase and walked over to say hello to his parents who'd just made it through the doorway with their own luggage.

"I'm glad to see the house is still standing." Mikoto teased, looking around. "The way Itachi talked I was afraid it would have burned down while we were away."

Sakura blushed, knowing it was her earlier words to Itachi that had caused such concern.

"It's nice to see you, Sakura dear." Mikoto said, coming to give her a gentle hug. "How have you been? Sasuke didn't give you too much trouble did he?"

"Not at all." Sakura lied, returning her hug. "We've gotten along just fine."

Pulling back Mikoto saw the slight stain of red on her cheeks, and smiled in understanding.

"Sure you have." She said with a wink and a small laugh, and then turned to go and hug her son.

Sakura watched with interest as Sasuke hugged each of his family members and they joked about the small adventures they'd encountered on their trip. Itachi teased Sasuke about finally being alone with a girl for the first time, and he retaliated by lightly punching his brother in the shoulder. Fugaku stepped forward and put an arm over Sasuke's shoulders and directed them all into the living room where she'd been sitting earlier. He asked how school was going so far and listened with interest as Sasuke told him about his classes and the sports he'd planned on joining that year.

She couldn't help but feel a small pang in her heart at the picture they painted. They were the perfect family in her mind, and she felt the slightest amount of jealousy at how lucky they all were to have each other. Deciding not to intrude on their moment together she headed down into the game room, and saw the game that Sasuke must have paused in order to greet everyone. Picking up the controler she decided to play for a bit, hoping Sasuke wouldn't be too mad when he realized she'd been playing on his account.

Several hours had flown by and she'd beaten a few levels and was in the middle of fighting the current boss. She was on her third attempt at the moment, and jumped up and gave a shout of joy when she finally defeated him, only to hear laughter coming from behind her. She whirled around to find Sasuke leaning against the bookshelves.

"How long have you been standing there?" She questioned, suddenly nervous.

"Long enough." He replied cooly.

"Um, sorry about hijacking your game. I just couldn't help myself when I saw it pulled up on the screen."

He just gave her a slight once over and then shrugged his shoulders.

"Dinner's ready." He said, and then headed back upstairs.

She quickly shut off the consol and put everything back in it's proper place before following him. Stepping into the dinning room she saw a small feast laid out on the table. Clearly one of the many hired chef's had gone all out tonight for the return of the elder Uchiha's. There was smoked salmon with some type of sauce on top, salad, an assortment of fruits and vegetables were spread out, and for dessert there were several different kinds of pies sitting at the open end of the table.

"Are we really going to eat all of this?" Sakura asked as she took her seat across from Sasuke.

"That's my fault." Mikoto admitted, slightly embarassed. "I wasn't sure what you liked so I just had them make a bit of everything."

"I'm sure we'll figure it out eventually." Fugaku assured her.

"Thank you," Sakura said, still a little stunned. "but you didn't have to do that for me."

"It's no trouble." Fugaku promised.

"Besides," Mikoto continued. "They boys eat like bottomless pits. It won't go to waste."

"Well, that's good." Sakura laughed.

Mikoto nodded in agreement then paused after looking around the table. She glanced back at Sakura with a slight frown on her face.

"Where's Tsunade?"

"She's been working a lot of hours at the hospital. Usually she doesn't get in till around 3 or 4 in the morning."

"That woman." Mikoto sighed. "She always did work too hard. I guess we'll just have to save some of this for her."

With that everyone dug in. Sakura had to admit, this was probably one of the best meals she'd ever eaten.

'If this is how they eat just for coming home I can't imagine what the holidays are like around here. Food must practically be falling off the table.' She thought dumbly.

After finishing what was on her plate Sakura watched in amazement as Sasuke and Itachi took both seconds and thirds and downed them with ease. She'd never seen someone eat so much in one sitting. She looked over to see Fugaku watching them with what could only be embarassment and Mikoto was chuckling under her breath. Clearly they were use to this stupifying display. After they finished Sakura could only look between the brothers in shock.

"Wow." Sakura let out. "If it wasn't so mind blowing to watch it'd be gross."

The whole table burst into laughter at her comment, except for Sasuke of course. He did however, give a slight smirk.

"It is quite something. I'll never understand how they do it." Mikoto said.

"Me either." She agreed.

"So,"Fugaku started. "with all the hours she's putting in at the hospital has Tsundade been able to look for a place for the two of you live?"

"Fugaku!" Mikoto repremanded. "That's rude."

Turning slightly in her seat next to her husband she smiled warmly at Sakura.

"We aren't rushing you out dear. I'm sure my husband was just asking out of concern."

"It's fine." She promised. "As far as I know she hasn't had much luck, but whenever I offer help she says she's got it under control."

"That's too bad, but your both welcome to stay here as long as you need. We've certainly got the room." Mikoto promised her.

"Thank you. I really appreciate everything your doing for me and my aunt. If there's anything we can do to repay you.." Sakura offered.

"Nonsense." Fugaku huffed. "There's no need to thank us. Your family to us Sakura. Tsunade too, and family is always welcome in our house."

Sakura felt light tears spring to her eyes at his kind words but tamped them down and gave him a smile of gratitude in response. There was nothing she could say that would acurately describe how she felt in that moment.

* * *

After dinner Sakura made her way to the library for some time to herself. She was the only one who used the room to her knowledge. Everyone in the family had their own personal study which contained any books of importance to them, so there was never much need for them to enter the library. Walking over to the bay window overlooking the front of the property, Sakura sat down and gazed out the window, enjoying the sight of the fountain in the center of the large yard. It's soft flow of water was soothing even though she couldn't hear it from this distance. The flickering lights of the last few remaining fireflies of the year littered the yard in sporatic bursts, giving the enitre area a soft ambiance.

Turning her gaze away from the window for a moment she glanced at the door just in time to see Sasuke step in. He walked to the center of the room where a small table sat with a book laid open on top. He took a seat and began to read the open pages. She was surpised that someone else had come into her hiding place, but it was clear to Sakura by his movements that he didn't know she was there.

"Seeing you with your family today made me a little jealous." She spoke softly, alerting him to her presence. However, he didn't turn around to look at her. He just lifted his head and gazed forward as he listened to her words.

"It made me think of the things I could have had with my own parents. The memories we would have shared or the inside jokes we would have made. I always wondered if we'd make new family traditions, like having game night on Fridays, or carving pumpkins together for Halloween. Would we have gone to the park on a Sunday afternoon for a picnic where I finally convinced them to let me have a dog? Or would we have just stayed home and watched a movie together? I can't help but think about stuff like that all the time. Especially when I see how happy other families are together. They're lucky...your lucky." She finished.

She wondered if he would say anything, but tried not to think too hard on it. Instead she turned to look out the window once more. Several moments had passed when his low, melodic voice caught her attention.

"I hated you before I even met you." He admitted, his back still facing her.

"My parents were always at the hospital when I was younger, for some business meeting that they just couldn't miss. Itachi went with them. Every time. So he could look after _you_. I was stuck here alone, while _my_ brother, spent his time with you at that place. Even when they came home you were all they talked about. You and your parents; what a great family you were, and how you were going to be a great doctor like them one day too. I couldn't help but resent you for taking them away from me so often." He said venomously.

"Then one day they came home upset. Saying that you were leaving and wouldn't be coming back. Itachi seemed particularly hearbroken, but I was happy after they told me. I finally had my family back, but then one day, Itachi got mad at me. He said it was nothing to celebrate. That the only reason you were leaving is because someone killed your parents, and I wouldn't want someone to be happy if that had happened to me. I felt...guilty, after that. I may not have spent as much time with them as I wanted, but at least my family was still alive. When they told me you were moving back here..." He let out a long sigh. "I guess I was worried that they might..." He shook his head, as if dispelling the thought from his mind.

Sakura was shocked beyond words that he'd opened up and told her all of that. It was a peak inside the mind of Sasuke Uchicha. Few people probably got that chance, so she waited with abated breath for him to finish his story. Afraid that if she even budged and inch he would get up and leave, and she'd never how it ended. She was amazed to discover that he had insecurities just like everyone else. Hesitantly, she stood, and as quietly as mouse, as to not startle him, she walked until she stood behind him.

He knew she was there, but still he didn't not move. Even went she bent over and wrapped her arms around him from behind, he didn't budge.

"Thank you." She whispered quietly in his ear, and gave him one light squeeze before removing her arms and walking out of the room, leaving him with nothing but his thoughts.

* * *

Sakura rolled over in her bed the next morning to hear something crunch underneath her. She sat up and looked down to see a clear container of sugar cookies. They were shaped like Christmas trees and ornaments, and sprinkled with red and green glitter. They looked just like the ones she would make with her parents as a child. Her thoughts immediately went to Naruto.

'He must have given them to Sasuke or Itachi to give me.' She thought happily. 'That was sweet of him. I'll need to thank him somehow.'

Sliding out of bed she walked into her bathroom to take a shower before school. For the first time she felt well-rested. When Tsunade had returned she told her about the nightmares and she'd immediately given her something to help her sleep. It was a dreamless sleep, so she didn't see her parents faces, but she'd come to accept that it was for the best. She couldn't keep going through life the way she had been. It wasn't healthy.

Stepping out of the shower a while later, she dried herself off and began to blow-dry her long hair, because of its length and thickness if she didn't blow-dry it then it would be wet for the entire school day. Once she finished, her hair fell to her waist softly. She then made her way to her closet and put on her school uniform. After she'd slipped on her favorite pair of black ankle boots she heard a knock at her door.

"Just a minute!" She called, running to grab her bag and opened her door to find Sasuke standing there.

Immediately thoughts of the previous night popped into her head, and she felt herself blush. In the moment it had seemed like the right thing to do, but now she felt unsure. He looked at her the same way he always did, disinterested.

'If he can act like nothing happend then so can I.' She thought stubbornly.

"What's up?" She asked nonchalantly.

"Naruto had to go to school early to take a make-up test. So I'll have to drive us today."

"Oh." She said, slightly disappointed. "Okay. Let's go then."

He stepped back to let her walk past him and down the stairs. Sakura could feel him staring at her back as she ascended the steps. It was like someone was slowly burning her. The longer he stared the more she felt it. Reaching the landing she headed straight for the door hoping that getting inside the car would prevent him from staring further. However when she stepped outside and saw the car they were taking she stopped in her tracks.

"That's kind of flashy for school don't you think?" She asked skeptically.

"That's why I ususally let Naruto drive." He explained, walking around her. "Hop in."

She looked at the car once more. The Porsche before her sat so low to the ground Sakura thought she'd have to fall in to sit inside it properly. It was a glossy black and the paint gleamed so brightly in the morning sun that Sakura could clearly see her reflection. She knew the enterior would be just as nice as the outside, if not moreso.

Sliding into the car she noticed how the leather seats were so soft they felt like butter beneath her touch. Everything she looked at spoke volumes of how exspensive the car really was. The touch screen in the center of the dashboard, the way the gearshift seemed to sparkle, and the number of buttons that seemed to sit on almost every surface. She felt Sasuke start the car and heard it pur to life.

"Damn, this is a nice car." Sakura whispered as she stroked the leather.

"Buy one if you like it so much." Sasuke replied in way that made it obvious he thought she could never afford it.

"I could if I really wanted to." She informed him, and had the pleasure of seeing him look at her surprised.

"Shocked?" She teased. "Yeah, I have money. My parents left me everything when they died, and I'm sure you know that working in healthcare is pretty good income. Especially for surgeons. I just don't flaunt my money the way you do."

"Hn."

They sat in silence for the entire drive, and Sakura enjoyed just watching Sasuke drive. There was something very sexy about the way he did it. Although, she'd never tell him that. Once they finally reached school she practically jumped out of the car before he'd even fully parked it. Not that she minded, but she just needed to get some fresh air.

'There is something seriously wrong with me if I'm getting turned on just by watching him drive a car.'

 **'Don't act like you didn't enjoy it.' Her inner spoke back.**

'You pop up at the worst times, I swear.' She hissed.

She walked in step with Sasuke as they made their way through the entryway of the school. Spotting a head of blond hair in the distance Sakura said a few words to Sasuke and then took off.

"Naruto!" She exclaimed, causing his head to look in her direction. Once he spotted her a huge smile spread across his face. They both made their way through the crowd of people and met each other in the middle.

"Hey Sakura." He said impishly.

"I wanted to thank you for the cookies. That was really sweet."

"Cookies?" He asked.

"Yeah. The ones that I told you I use to make with my parents. I found them this morning. They're a little crushed since I rolled over on them though." She explained.

"Sakura," He spoke hesitantly. "I didn't give you those cookies."

"But, you were the only one I told about them. So, if you didn't give them to me then who did?"

Naruto scratched the back of his head knowing this was the moment of truth. He had to tell her what had happened between him and Sasuke. She was probably going to be pissed, but he had to tell her anyways.

"Listen Sakura," He began. "Sasuke heard what you told me on the couch. I didn't know till I went and confronted him in his room though. I told him about your panic attacks too, and I could tell he felt bad about what he said, so he probably did this as his way of apologizing. Since the idiot it'll never actually do it with words."

"These are...from Sasuke?" She asked.

"Yeah. Please don't be mad!" He begged, clapping his hands in front of him like a prayer.

Sakura didn't pay any attention to his words. Instead she turned around and began to look for raven colored locks in the crowd. She saw him just as he started to head down the hallway. She immediately began to start after him. Once she reached the beginning of the hallway he was already halfway down it. She manuvered past people as best she could. Eventually she got fed up with it.

"Sasuke!" She called, and the crowd of students parted like the Red Sea to look between her and the dark haired male down the hall.

He still had his back turned to her, not hearing her yell his name. The surrounding students watched as she began to run towards him.

"Sasuke!" She called again.

This time he heard her and turned just in time to catch her as she launched herself at him. Every pair of eyes in the building seemed to be watching them at that moment, but Sakura didn't care. She wrapped her arms around Sasuke just like she had the night before, but this time she could feel his warmth without a chair between them. He smelled wonderful, she couldn't even pinpoint what exactly the smell was she just knew it was utterly Sasuke. She snuggled closer since he hadn't tried to push her away, and whispered "Thank you. " in his ear once more.

Pulling back from him slowly, she looked up to see his dark eyes staring down at her. He paid no mind to the whispers that were starting to swirl through the student body, and neither did she. Sakura got lost in the black pools of his eyes, and felt herself blush at her behavior. She didn't regret it though. Especially when he let out his signature "Hn." and went on to say, "Don't read into it. Your just really annoying when your depressed."

She just smiled shyly, and then hugged him once more before seeing Hinata and heading to class.

'Let the rumors begin.' She thought humorously.

* * *

 **I know that normally Sasuke would never have been that open and honest with someone. Especially Sakura, but I needed to do something to develop their relationship, so I thought that having them understand each other better would be a good start. I hope it turned out okay. I was thinking of doing the next chapter or the chapter after completely from Sasuke's POV. What do you guys think? Good idea or bad? I've already decided pretty much how it's gonna go I'm just not sure who's POV to write it from, but the rest of the story is definitely going to be more centered around their relationship from this point on. Please don't forget to review! They make me smile :)**


	6. Distractions

**I'm aware that this chapter is much sorter than my most recent ones. While I was writing it actually just became too long so I split it in half, plus I think the timing between chapters works better this way.**

 **I didn't get any feedback, besides one person, on my idea to write a complete chapter from Sasuke's POV but I plan on doing it a few chapters from now anyways, so I hope no one is super surprised by it.**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

Sakura sat on some mats that had been stacked on top of each other, inside of the large gym built on the corner of the Uchiha's property. At the moment she was watching Naruto _attempt_ to spar with Itachi. She couldn't stop staring at the spectacle the two boys made. Naruto kept charging forward at him blindly with no real plan at all, and Itachi kept dodging him with ease. Ducking and weaving almost as if he was predicting Naruto's movements. Naruto never once landed a single hit on him, and Itachi kept flipping him on his back to the mats beneath them. Naruto didn't give up until Itachi pinned him to the floor with a knee in his back and turned his arm at an unnatural angle.

"Okay, okay!" Naruto whined. "You win. Just don't break my arm."

Itachi grinned and got off the blond, then helped him stand once more.

"I would never actually hurt you Naruto." He informed.

"Tell that to my back. I think it's permanently bruised now." He complained, rubbing at a particularly sore spot. "Couldn't you have pretended to let me win at least once? Now Sakura won't stop laughing at me."

"Why don't we let her spar with you then?" Itachi suggested. "Maybe then she won't laugh anymore."

Sakura immediately sobbered at the idea of fighting Naruto. Sure, he couldn't hold his own against Itachi, she didn't think anyone could, but he would probably fair much better against her. She wasn't a seasoned fighter the way Itachi was; who'd been winning various types of competitions since a young age.

"Don't be ridiculous." Sakura said. "I'm sure Naruto wouldn't find fighting me much of a challenge."

"Come on Sakura. Tsunade told me about the kickboxing classes you've been taking. I bet you'll do better than you think." Itachi encouraged.

"I don't know..." Naruto said skeptically. "I don't want to hurt her, and she's right. I like more of a challenge."

Sakura felt a hint of anger spike at his words even though it was her who'd said them first. She was trying to just avoid the sparing match altogether. She didn't actually think Naruto would wipe the floor with her. Hearing his confidence in the matter hit a nerve.

"Actually, I think I'll try it." She decided, earning wide eyes from Naruto and a large smile from Itachi.

"Okay." Naruto began. "I won't go easy on you though."

"We wouldn't be friends anymore if you did." Sakura joked.

Taking her place opposite of Naruto on the mats, she rolled her shoulders a few times and took an open stance. Like he had with Itachi, Naruto charged at her the moment they were told to begin. She neatly dodged his fist that came flying towards her face, and grabbed his wrist twirling under his arm and coming up behind him to kick the back of his knee causing him to kneel on the ground. She let go and took a few steps back to prepare for his next attack.

"This might actually be pretty fun." She said happily.

Where Naruto's fighting style was more aggresive in nature, Sakura's was lighter and more acrobatic. It almost appeared as if she were dancing around Naruto. If Itachi didn't know any better he would think that the match had been coreographed by the way she easily sidestepped him and would twist away before he could get a grasp on her. Only a few minutes had gone by when Sakura had knocked Naurto to the floor and Itachi declared that the fight was over.

"No fair!" Naruto cried. "She was practically using her hair as a weapon. Didn't you see the way it kept smaking me in the face while she was spinning around? I was completely blind!"

Unlike most days Sakura was wearing her long hair pulled up into a ponytail. While she hadn't been planning on sparing, she did dress for a workout today, and stood in her black yoga leggings and red sports bra. Her chest was heaving slightly from her fight with Naruto and a light layer of sweat was glistening on her skin.

"Just looking at her is distracting." Naruto continued. "It's no wonder I lost."

"What, exactly, are you trying to say?" Sakura asked him, a threatening look on her face.

Naruto gulped, but kept going.

"It's just that...well, I'm a guy, and your standing over there without a shirt on. It makes it a little hard to focus. That's all."

"All the estentials are covered Naruto." She said with a roll of her eyes. "If you want to I'll go put a shirt on and make sure my hair is out of your way, and we can go again."

"No. That's okay." He rushed out. "I'm really tired, so maybe next time."

Itachi and Sakura couldn't help but laugh at the obvious fact that he was just making an excuse to not get beat again. Wiping away her tears of mirth she noticed Sasuke opening the door and entering the gym. He looked between Naruto, who was still sitting on the ground, and Sakura and Itachi's light laughter.

"Itachi beat your ass again dobe?" Sasuke asked with a smirk.

"No." Naruto grumbled. "I just spared with Sakura."

Sasuke turned to look at the girl in question, and saw her standing in a triumphant manner next to his brother.

"Pathetic." He stated simply.

"He tried his best." Itachi disagreed. "Sakura was just better than anyone expected."

Sasuke gave her his normal expressionless face, but Sakura somehow knew he doubted she was that skilled of a fighter, and obviously blamed Naurto's lack of ability for her win.

"I bet I could take you on." She challenged.

He just scoffed for a response, but Itachi spoke.

"I don't know Sakura. He normally only spars with me because no one else can keep up. Naruto's an exception because he knows how to take a hit."

"I'll take the risk." She assured. "Besides, with any luck he's as easily distracted as Naruto."

Sasuke raised his brows at that but otherwise kept quiet.

"Are you sure?" Itachi asked once more. "You could actually get hurt this time."

"I'll be careful." Sasuke said from the doorway. "If she gets hurt it's her own fault."

This time it was Sakura's turn to scoff. Having made up her mind she went to stand on her side of the mat once more, and watched as Sasuke walked across the large gym to take his position, slipping his shirt off along the way.

'Fuck.' Sakura thought. 'If this is how Naruto felt it's no wonder he was distracted.'

Her green eyes followed his movements of their own accord. She couldn't help but admire his physique. The way his rock hard abs rippled and contracted with each step he took, and how his arms seemed to be in a constant flexed state without any effort on his part. She also couldn't help but notice the way his gray sweats rode low on his hips. Even just standing across from her he radiated power.

'The man is too attractive for his own good.' She thought darkly. 'It's no wonder he has a fan club. If they saw him like this they'd probably faint on the spot.'

"Okay. Fight fair." Itachi stated, giving Sakura a pointed look.

"What?" She asked dumbly.

"He means don't kick Sasuke in the balls in order to win." Naruto explained with a laugh.

"As if." She responded, slightly upset that Itachi thought she would resort to such tactics.

"Begin when your ready." Itachi said stepping back.

She and Sasuke began to circle each other around the mats. When neither one had made a move Sakura decided that she would have to attack first, since Sasuke was obviously sitting back in order to assess her skills. She ran at top speed, and had the pleasure of watching his eyes widen slightly in surprise. However, he effortlessly caught her quick jab in his hand and spun her so her back was flush with his front, and held her arms crossed in front of her chest. She gave a light shiver at the skin contact, but tried to come up with a quick escape plan.

"Is that the best you can do?" Sasuke's low voice asked, his lips right next to her ear.

"Not a chance." She returned, and quickly slammed her foot down on his instep, which loosened his grip enough that she could land an elbow to his ribs. Turning out of his grasp she faced him and threw a kick towards his stomach, but he recovered just in time to grab her foot and shove her backwards.

She stumbled back a few steps, and felt a slight twinge in her right ankle when it came back to the ground, but ignored the pain in order to continue. She managed to regain her balance just in time to look up and see him coming towards her, fists flying. She dodged his as neatly as she had Naruto's, and just like she had with him she eventually caught one his punches and slipped under his arm, but instead of kicking his feet out from under him, she used his forward momentum against him and flipped him over onto his back. He hit the mat with a heavy thud, but didn't miss a beat. He spun and swiped his foot under her legs, causing her to fall flat on her back and knock the breath out of her. Before she could even get her breathing back under control Sasuke straddled her and pinned her hands on either side of her head. Their faces only inches apart.

"I win." He taunted, and she felt his breath fan the loose hairs around her face.

She didn't respond, too distracted by how close thier faces suddenly were. She watched as a bead of sweat slowly rolled down from his temple, falling lightly on her cheek. She looked into his onyx eyes and saw something that she couldn't quite identify, but quickly forgot about it when she noticed how his eyes had followed the small movement of her tongue when she'd lightly wet her lips in order to speak.

"I want a re-match." She whispered, her eyes now locked on his own smooth lips, just inches apart from her own.

"Why don't we save that for another day?" Itachi's voice spoke, effectively cutting through the tension.

"Fine." Sasuke agreed, although it was unclear if he was answering Sakura or Itachi.

He slowly stood up and then held his hand out to help up Sakura. She placed her hand in his and let him pull her from the floor, but quickly began to fall back down when she felt a sharp pain shoot up from her right ankle. Sasuke slid an arm around her waist, and slung the other over his shoulders before she hit the ground.

"Shit." She muttered, placing her weight on one leg.

"What's wrong Sakura?" Naruto asked, quickly following Itachi over.

"I sprained my ankle."

"Are you sure?" Itachi asked, kneeling on the ground and gently grabbing said ankle in order to examine it.

"Yeah." She breathed out. "Fuck. This is the last thing I need right now."

All the boys eyebrows lifted slightly at her langauge, but stayed silent.

"It's definitely sprained." Itachi agreed. "Can you put any weight on it?"

"I can try."

Itachi shook his head after a moment of thought. "Actually, it's probably better if you stay off it for now. We'll have Tsunade take a look at it when she gets home tonight. You should get back inside the house and put some ice on it."

She nodded in agreement, and suddenly felt an arm behind her knees scooping her off the ground. She looked into Sasuke's eyes in surprise, not expecting him to be so uncharacteristically kind.

"Go put her on the couch, and grab an icepack from the kitchen. Naruto and I will pick up everything here and be along shortly." Itachi ordered.

Sasuke gave him a single nod, and proceeded out the door while Naruto held it open for them, and began the trek back to the house.

"I guess I got hurt after all." Sakura pouted, glancing up at him once more.

"Hn."

"Seriously?" She demanded. "I thought we were finally past that. Why can't you just talk to me like a normal person?"

"About what?" He questioned.

"Anything!" Sakura exclaimed. "Like maybe how you've been ignoring me ever since I hugged you at school last week, or I suppose we can always talk about the weather if you get desparate."

"Hn." He responded once more.

"Ugh! You are so-"

"Annoying?" He finished for her.

"Actually, I was going to say frustrating." She retorted. "Your so damn frustrating it's driving me insane."

"Really?" He replied sarcastically.

"Yes! I can't figure you out. One day your apologizing and making me cookies, and the next your back to your asshole-ish, 'I don't give a damn' attitude."

"I didn't make them." He explained, sounding bored with the conversation. "I bought them."

"Whatever." Sakura grumbled. "You get my point."

They reached a side entrance of the house and she felt Sasuke shift her weight in his arms in order to open the door. Instintively, she tightened her arms around his neck so she wouldn't fall.

"I won't drop you." He assured her. "Your almost too light; I could probably carry you with one arm."

Sakura wasn't sure how to take his comment. It certainly wasn't a compliment, but it didn't sound like an insult either. She wasn't the shortest girl she knew, but standing at 5'4 she wasn't all that tall either. She'd always liked her body. She had just the right amount of womanly curves, but was slim enough that they didn't look too round on her small frame. Her stomach, arms and legs were all nicely toned ever since she'd taken up kickboxing and yoga, but she wasn't overly muscled. While not being above average height Sakura's legs were long and slender, and her butt was small and perky. Her breasts weren't overly large, but her c-cups were the perfect size for her body. She wasn't the prettiest girl she'd ever seen, but she thought she had a fairly attractive body. It was clear Naruto agreed if his earlier reaction was any indication.

"How much do you weigh?" Sasuke asked, his expressionless mask still in place.

"Around 120 pounds I guess. I'm not exactly sure." She answered.

He said nothing as he made his way to the living room and lowered her to the couch, grabbing a few pillows to prop her foot up with. After making sure she was comfortable he headed into the kitchen to get an icepack as Itachi had instructed and returned with it a moment later. Sitting across from her on top of the small coffee table, he placed the icepack on her ankle which was already an angry red color and starting to swell.

"Aunt Tsuna's going to kill me." She groaned, her head flopping back onto the armrest behind her.

She saw Sasuke's questioning look and went on. "My idea to take kickboxing classes weren't exactly a hit with her. She only let me go because I promised to be extra careful. Now she's probably going to try and make me quit...again."

"Your not bad." He said, to her shock. "If you'd been fighting against anyone else you probably would have been fine."

"Thanks...I guess."

They sat in silence, and Sakura once again noticed that Sasuke was shirtless. He was too busy carrying her into the house after their match to put it on. She tried her best not to let her eyes wander but she would occasionally catch herself looking at the hard muscle of his six pack, or noticing how big his hands were compared to hers, as his fingers intertwind themselves in front of his mouth. Itachi and Naruto came in at that moment, and asked Sakura what she wanted them to do with her stuff that had been left in the gym, and tossed Sasuke his shirt, which he promptly threw on. She asked them take her shoes and bag into her room while putting her water bottle back in the refridgerator. They followed her instructions and came back, sitting down on the loveseat diagonal from her place on the couch.

"Does it hurt a lot?" Naruto asked.

"The ice is helping. It's pretty numb right now, but I'm probably not going to be able to walk on it for a while. I'll need crutches." She sighed heavily, closing her eyes in annoyance.

"How long?" Itachi questioned.

"Four weeks at best. Aunt Tsuna will have to wrap it for me when she gets home."

"I thought you were going to be careful?" Itachi suddenly growled at his younger brother who was still perched on the coffee table, his back turned to him.

"It's not his fault." Sakura interjected. "I felt a pain in my ankle during the match. If I'd just stopped I probably would have been fine, but I decided to push through it. There was probably no serious damage done until Sasuke kicked my feet out from under me at the end, but he couldn't have known. Don't be mad at him Itachi, okay?"

"Fine," He huffed. "but there won't be a re-match."

She opened her mouth to argue but Itachi silenced her with a single look and she snapped it shut. When he got like this there was no disagreeing with him, and everyone knew it.

"Go ahead and take her upstairs Sasuke. I'll call Tsunade and let her know what happened."

"Please don't." Sakura begged.

"If I tell her now she'll have the rest of the day to cool down. If she finds out when she gets home, you'll feel the full force of her anger." Itachi explained.

Sakura cringed at the idea, and nodded in agreement. She braced herself as Sasuke bent to pick her up in his arms once more. He ascended the stairs and quickly made it to her room on the third floor despite the extra weight he was carrying. He automatically turned towards her bed in the center of the room, but Sakura stopped him.

"Could you take me in the bathroom instead? I'm dying to take a shower right now."

"You can't stand. How do you plan on taking a shower?"

"Fine. A bath then."

He gave a small sigh of exasperation, but carried her to the bathroom as she asked. He sat her down on the edge of the large tub and turned the water on for her. He straightened and went to the linen closet to get a few towels and placed them within reach of the tub. Luckily, she'd already brought her pajamas in here earlier. Planning to shower as soon as she got back from the gym. However, she wasn't planning on having company so they were slightly more revealing than she would have liked, but she certainly wasn't going to ask Sasuke to go through her clothes and find new ones. She gave him a small smile and told him she could take care of it from here.

Once he had left and closed the door behind him she began to shed her clothes. Taking extra care while slipping off her pants around her sensitive ankle. Once every article of clothing had been deposited on the floor she turned on the edge of the large tub and slowly sunk into the hot water. She couldn't help but sigh in pleasure at how nice it felt against her skin, and sunk her head below the surface in order to wash her hair, which was now free from the pony tail she'd had it in earlier.

After washing every surface of her skin and rinsing the conditioner from her hair Sakura pulled the plug, and gingerly pushed herself up out of the tub to sit on its edge once more. Reaching for the towels that Sasuke had left folded on a nearby rack she began pulling one around her hair and twisted it up on top of her head and then proceeded to dry off with the other. Once that was done she grabbed her pajamas for the night, which consisted of a black silk camisole that showed a few inches of her midriff and a matching pair of silk shorts that fell just below her butt. She blushed at the thought of Sasuke seeing her so scantily clothed, but decided it couldn't be helped.

At that moment a knock sounded on the door.

"Come in!" Sakura called, and watched Sasuke make his way back into the room. He hesistated only for a moment upon noticing what she was wearing, but then continued and picked her up and carried her to the bed.

"Would you mind getting my brush for me?" She asked shyly, pointing to wear it laid on top of her dresser across the room.

He stood wordlessly and got it for her, and then sat on the edge of the bed when he returned and watched as she took her hair down and began to brush the tangles out. She tried her best to ignore his presence and just go about her usual routine, but somehow it felt like he filled her enitre room to capacity. Once she had finished brushing her hair she twisted it on top of her head into a ballerina bun, a few curling tendrils escaping and brushing against her cheeks and neck.

"Thank you for helping me. I'm sure it's a bit of a chore, but I appreciate it." She told him gratefully.

"Hn." was his his response.

"Were back to that again I see." She huffed and leaned back against her numerous amount of pillows.

"Itachi had dinner made. I'll go get it." He spoke softly, and then left the room before she could say anything.

He came back about ten minutes later, carrying a tray with her food on it, and sat it on her lap. She looked down to see a plate of spaghetti with a small side salad and brownie with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and hot fudge drizzled on top. Her mouth immediately started watering. It smelled absolutely delicious. She grabbed the dessert first and took a small bite, letting out a small moan of delight at how good it tasted. She looked up to see Sasuke staring down at her intently, or more precisely her _mouth._ He slowly reached a hand out and lightly ran his thumb across her bottom lip causing Sakura to let out a small gasp. She watched in wonder as he brought his thumb to his own mouth and licked off the small drop of chocolate he'd wiped off her. Sakura licked her lips at the action, feeling a warmth low in her belly. Noticing her reaction Sasuke placed a hand under her chin and raised her head just enough so that her emerald green eyes locked with his onyx ones, and once again began to brush his thumb across her lips; back and forth, back and forth. She sat there mesmerized by him and his actions. The longer he touched her the more she felt the urge to toss her food aside and pull his lips down to hers.

"No." He said softly, almost as if he'd heard her thoughts, and suddenly his hand left her face and he was gone. Leaving her sitting there in the bed letting out the breath she wasn't aware she'd been holding.

* * *

 **So? How was it? Did I do okay with the fight scenes? I tried my best. I didn't think they were that bad, but I can be a little biased. Sorry for the abrupt ending of the SasuSaku moment. I promise there is plenty more to come in the next chapter, so prepare yourselves! I just didn't want them to go from fighting straight to having intense feelings for each other. I felt like it needs a bit more time to build. I hope you all liked it, and please review! They're my favorite!**


	7. The Beginning

**I seriously rewrote this chapter about five times so I really hope you guys like it, but if you don't I still want to know.**

 **I'm sure most of you know, but flashbacks are in italics**

 **Thanks for reading!**

* * *

Sakura gazed out the large school window and watched as the early morning October air plucked the last few leaves from the branches of the trees and fluttered them to the ground. The suns rays would occasionally shine through the clouds, brightening an otherwise dreary picture. She let out a soft sigh and turned to look at the clock at the front of the classroom. Their homeroom teacher, Mr. Hatake, was late again. Just as he had been every other day that year, but she didn't mind his tardiness at the moment. She was lost in her thoughts and wanted to keep it that way. It seemed to be the only place she could escape to these days.

It had been over a month since she had injured her ankle. Her aunt had given her the okay to walk on it again just a few days ago, and she was glad to be rid of the troublesome crutches she'd had to cart around. It also meant that she didn't have to rely on Naruto or Sasuke to help carry her things in the mornings, which she was immensely grateful for. She didn't mind to spend time with Naruto, but Sasuke always seemed to be close by whenever he was around, and that, she just could not handle.

After what had occured between them in her bedroom Sasuke had begun to avoid her once more. As the days passed on she became more and more confused, not understanding what she had done to push him away, but he'd made it clear that he didn't want to be around her unless it was absolutely necessary. Because of her injury he had to help her up and down the stairs each day, seeming to grow increasingly frustrated with each journey. She'd planned to confront him about it, but it became unnecessary after she'd over heard him talking to Naruto one afternoon...

 _"I hate these things!" Sakura yelled, throwing her crutches across the room in frustration. "They just get in the way. I've already tripped five times today. Five!"_

 _Itachi chuckled at her actions, finding it incredibly amussing that she was letting a pair of crutches get to her this badly._

 _"Maybe I can help." He suggested._

 _"Really?" She asked skeptically, uncrossing her arms slightly._

 _"Yes." He nodded. "Just for today I'll take you anywhere you want to go. No crutches needed."_

 _"I knew there was a reason I liked you so much." She grinned._

 _"And here I was thinking it was because of my charm and good looks."_

 _"There's that too." Sakura joked._

 _"Whatever. Just hop on."_

 _Itachi turned and gave her his back, bending low in order to make it easier for her to climb on. Once she had securely wrapped her arms around his neck and he was sure he had a good hold on her legs he rose._

 _"Where to?"_

 _"Lets go play a game of pool." She decided after a moment of thought._

 _With that Itachi walked out of her room and down the stairs. Once they reached the main floor Sakura stopped him at the last moment._

 _"I want snack food." She explained. "This way you won't have to make a separate trip up here."_

 _"Okay." He agreed. "Anything in particular?"_

 _"Chocolate." She said immediately. "As much as we can carry."_

 _"You'll have a stomach ache." He laughed._

 _"It'll be worth it."_

 _They were about to round the corner and step into the kitchen when they heard Narutos voice._

 _"You're avoiding her." He stated simply._

 _Sakuras eyes widened. She somehow knew he was talking about her, and as much as she hated to be an eavesdropper, she desparately wanted to know what else would be said._

 _"Wait." She whispered to Itachi._

 _"Sakura..." He warned._

 _"He's talking about me. I have a right to know." She reasoned._

 _He disagreed with her logic, but followed her request, stopping right outside the entryway and out of eyesight, but within perfect range to hear every word._

 _"So?" Sasukes voice eventually responded._

 _"You live in the same house. You can't keep doing this forever. She's bound to notice and wonder what's going on, if she hasn't already."_

 _"Not my problem."_

 _"It is. Who do you think she's going to come to for answers Sasuke? You're the only one who can tell her what she needs to know."_

 _"She doesn't_ need _to know anything." Sasuke answered harshly. "I'm just tired of taking care of her. She's annoying, and desperate."_

 _"Desperate?" Naruto questioned._

 _"For attention." He explained. "She was giving me the same look those girls at school do. I don't want to deal with that."_

 _"When?" Naruto demanded._

 _"The night she sprained her ankle. It was pathetic."_

 _She vaugely heard Naruto respond, but wasn't paying that much attention. She was too stunned by what she'd just heard. Unconciously tightening her grip on Itachi she dropped her head forward in disappointment._

 _'Was it all just pity because of my ankle?' She thought sadly._

 _"Sakura?" Itachi inquired._

 _"Just go." She said glumly. "I can't hear anymore."_

Itachi had taken her to play pool after that like she'd asked, but she couldn't seem to find any enjoyment in the game. Hardly concentrating at all she'd lost every single time they played that night.

She ran his words over and over in her mind. He thought she was pathetic, and she had been. Staring up at him with stars in her eyes, pracitcally begging him to kiss her. He was probably tired of girls throwing themselves at him and didn't want to have to deal with it at home too.

She thought back to the way he'd touched her lips that night and just couldn't make sense of it. Why would he touch her like that if she annoyed him so much? Was he trying to hurt her intentionally? He did confess that he'd hated her before he even met her. Maybe this was his form of revenge, pulling her in only to leave her hanging.

'Maybe I'm just being dramatic and reading into it too much. Maybe he was just wiping more food off my lips, and that was that.' She reasoned.

After hearing their conversation Sakura had decided to give Sasuke what he so clearly desired, and gave him a wide berth. She got up early and made her own way down the stairs, and always asked Hinata, Tenten, or Lee to carry her books at school.

When Itachi had seen how upset she was over what they'd heard he called Tsunade and in an effort to cheer her up she bought her a car; a metallic white 911 Carrera 4 GTS. She loved it, but every time she looked at the Porsche it reminded her of Sasuke. However, that didn't stop her from driving herself to school every day since her ankle had healed. Now she didn't even have to endure car rides to and from school with him. It had gotten to the point where she only saw him at dinner each night. His parents had noticed and started to comment on it, but before they got too far Itachi shook his head and stopped them in their tracks, promising to explain at a later time.

Once he had told them, Sasuke's entire family was upset with the way he was treating her, but they decided not to interfere, feeling that it wasn't their place, and Sakura had asked them not to. She didn't want to give Sasuke another reason to be upset with her and just wanted to leave things be. They weren't ideal by any means, but she could handle it.

Glancing at the clock once more she had a feeling today was going to be a long day

* * *

'School is finally over.' She thought relieved, as she rushed out to her waiting car.

She'd hurriedly got into her car and put the key into the ingition. She'd just slid the gearshift into reverse when she heard a light tap on her window. She looked over to see Sasuke standing there, and cracked her window to ask what he wanted.

"I need a ride home. The dobe got detention." He explained, not looking her in the eyes.

"Fine. Get in."

She unlocked the passenger door and threw her bag into the back as he got in next to her. She immediately backed out of her parking space and sped out of the lot. They reached the Uchiha manor in record time, neither speaking a word the entire way, and once she parked she got out of the car as fast as she'd gotten into it, and ran inside the house. She was sure Sasuke wanted to get away from her just as badly, but he kept his cool much better than she did, and casually strolled in after her.

Heading straight to her room, she dropped her bag the second she walked through the door and flopped on her bed in exhaustion.

'Why can't I seem to get away from him?' She thought dejectedly.

Rolling over she decided to try and take a nap. She was on medication now do to her nightmares, but hoped that she was tired enough that it wouldn't matter. After an hour of tossing and turning she gave up and decided to head to the gym to work out her frustrations. Throwing on her sports bra, loose tank, and shorts she headed out of the house and towards the small trail that lead to the outdoor gym.

Finally coming up to the building she pulled out her key to unlock the door, but noticed it was already cracked open. Stepping closer she hesitantly pushed the door wide and walked inside.

'Please be Itachi, please be Itachi.' She chanted in her mind.

 **'That never works.' Inner informed her. 'Besides, you know no one else is here right now.'**

'Shit.'

Itachi and his parents had gone on another business trip earlier that day, but this time they would be gone for a few weeks, having to make several different stops at multiple locations.

Almost as soon as she'd stepped inside the large building she'd spotted Sasuke. Apparently he had the same idea as her, and was in the corner trying his best to put a hole in the punching bag he was using. At least, that was how it looked to her, every hit caused the bag to swing backwards by the sheer force of his blows, only to swing forward and be punched once more.

'Maybe if I move really slowly and just back out he won't notice I'm here.' Sakura thought dumbly.

She took a step backwards and began to turn around to go back the way she came, but somehow Sasuke had managed to cross the room in seconds and stopped her with a hand on her wrist.

"Wait." His low voice demanded.

She tried her best to ignore the feelings she got as his smooth, intoxicating voice washed over her and remember all the rude things he'd said about her. She faced him silently, looking at him expressionless, using his own tactics agaisnt him. He didn't seem to like being on the recieving end of things.

"What's your problem?"

"Nothing." She responded, taking extra care to keep her voice even and void of emotion. "I just thought I would give you your space and come back later."

"I don't mind. It's a big gym." He replied smoothly.

"It's fine." Sakura returned. "I just want some time alone anyways. I'll wait."

She slipped her wrist out of the warm circle of his hand and turned her back to him, but before she took a single step he spoke once more.

"You're avoiding me." He stated.

 **'And there goes the neighborhood.' Inner commented.**

She straightened immediately at his words, her body pulled taunt like a string. Her anger was slow to rise, building from the pits of her stomach rising towards her head, which was trying its best to keep the calm she'd worked for, but eventually it boiled over and she could control herself no longer. She whirled back around exploding in rage.

"You've got to be _fucking_ joking." She spoke, venom practically dripping from her words.

Sasuke's eyebrows rose and her sudden change of mood, but he remained silent letting her speak the words she so obviously needed to get out.

"I'm avoiding y _ou_? That's rich."

"Meaning?" He asked.

"Meaning you're the one who's been avoiding me!" She yelled, feeling her face turn red from the exertion. "I was just giving you what you wanted! I'd hate to be even more pathetic than I was after I hurt my ankle after all."

She could practically feel him inwardly cringe, realizing that she'd heard his conversation with Naruto.

'Good.' She thought vehemently. 'I hope he feels like the asshole that he is.'

"It's rude to eavesdrop on other peoples conversations." He remarked.

"Seriously? That's what you're taking from this? Incredible." She said disbelieving. "You're the one that talks shit behind my back, but somehow this is my fault?"

"There wouldn't be a problem if you'd just minded your own business." He stated calmly.

"Fuck you!" She screamed, and snapped her fist towards his face. He caught it easily, not even blinking.

"You'll hurt yourself again. Calm down."

At that she completely lost it and yanked their hands down while throwing her other fist at him, feeling a satisfying sting when it connected with his cheek. His head had snapped away from her because of her punch, but he slowly faced her once more. This time with anger blazing in his own eyes. He shoved her agaisnt the wall just feet behind her, and pinned her there, not allowing her to budge an inch.

"Are you done now?" He asked seething.

"No!" She yelled in his face. "How dare you turn this around on me. I didn't ask you to carry me around or to go and get food for me that night, you just did it! And I sure as hell didn't ask you to touch my lips. I didn't do anything! It was all you! So what if I listened in on your conversation? It's a good thing I did, because I don't want to turn into one of those fangirls you despise so much."

"You don't understand." He told her darkly.

"What is there to understand?" She questioned, utterly flabbergasted. "You want nothing to do with me. I got it. Now let me go."

"It's not..." He started. "I just-"

"Stop." Sakura interjected. "Just stop trying to defend yourself. I don't want to hear it."

She felt tears sting her eyes, but kept going even as they ran down her cheeks. She was sure he hated how weak she was, crying all the time, but she didn't care anymore. She couldn't hold it in and she didn't want to anymore, as her anger turned into sadness.

"I'm tired of trying to understand you, and break through that wall you've put up. It's never going to happen. At first I thought it was just me, but it's not. You don't let anyone in, and I was stupid to think that I could be the exception. So just let me go, and leave me alone." She explained, with a small shake of her head. "I can't be around you. It's too _hard._ "

"Sakura..."

"No. Just let me go." She begged, and felt herself sliding down the wall, unable to hold herself upright any longer. "Please just let me go. I can't do this anymore."

She felt him slowly release her and back away. Positive that he was looking at her with a pitying expression she bolted from the room and ran back to the house as fast as she could. She hit the stairs, taking them two or three at a time and went back to her room. She shut the door behind her, and leaned her head against it, taking deep breaths in an effort to calm herself down.

Sakura slowly walked to her bathroom, stripping her clothes as she went, carelessly dropping them on the floor. She turned the water in the shower as hot as it would go, and stepped inside, letting the sensation of the small rivets running down her body take over her thoughts. She closed her eyes and concentrated on trying to wash her anger and sadness down the drain. She stayed in that position until she felt the water turn cold, and stepped out not bothering to grab a towel. She threw her hair on top of her head haphazardly, not caring for her appearnce at the moment, and decided to go ahead and put on her pajamas.

She grabbed whatever was closest, which happened to be a tank and short set similar to the ones she'd worn the night she sprained her ankle, except these were a soft cotton that clung to her wet skin. The floral pattern on the fabric matched nicely with her hair, and was the only thing that kept the otherwise white material from being completly transparent. She made her way back downstairs, planning to grab a bunch of junk food and binge as she watched movies in the theater for the rest of the day. However, a large storage cabinet in the dinning room caught her attention before she made it there.

Walking towards the modern shelving unit she peered through the glass to find bottles upon bottles of liquor. All different assortments that she didn't know or even care to understand. Opening the door she pulled out a decanter that was completely full of a dark amber liquid. Pulling the cap off and taking a small sniff Sakura decided it didn't smell that bad. It was like a spicier version of cinnamon, and after taking a sip she grabbed the bottle along with a small glass nestled inside the cabinet and went on her way.

* * *

Hours later Sakura laid sprawled out on the carpet of the library, the decanter and glass a few feet away completely empty, and upturned on the floor. She stared at the ceiling, following patterns with her eyes that probably weren't really there. Her head felt heavy on her shoulders and her limbs tingled in a nice way. Her vision swam slightly and her tongue felt like cotton in her mouth, but she didn't mind. She decided she liked this feeling and wondered why she hadn't started drinking sooner.

'I wonder what was in that bottle.' She thought, a small hiccup escaping her throat. 'It does wonderful things.'

She let out a small giggle and rolled onto her side, making an effort to sit up on the floor. Once she raised her head she felt the world spin around her and stuck a hand out to try and make it stop.

"Woah. Sstop that." She spoke aloud, her words slurring a little.

She managed to stand on her feet after a moment, gripping a nearby bookshelf for support, and stumbled to the door. She had just grabbed the handle when she felt someone push it open from the other side causing her to tumble backwards, landing on her butt with a soft thud.

"Ouch." She muttered, rubbing the tender area. "That huurt."

She looked up at the offending person who had caused her current pridicament, and was immediately caught up in endless black eyes. She couldn't even differentiate the iris from the pupil they were so dark, but that just caused her to like them more. She felt a goofy grin spread across her lips as she continued to stare into eyes that reminded her of a starless night.

"Pretty." She said, not realizing she'd spoke aloud until another voice responded to her words.

"Are you drunk?"

Noticing that the eyes she'd referred to belonged to Sasuke, she felt hers go wide in response, but nodded happily nonetheless.

"As a sunk..." She hiccuped once more. "I mean skunk."

"What the hell did you drink?" He asked kneeling down to take a better look at her.

"I dunno." She shrugged. "It was cinnamon suff in that bottle o'er there. It tasted better the more I drank it, so I finished the whooole thing."

"Shit." He cursed.

"Oooh. Sassukee said a bad wordd." She admonished. "Sham on you."

"Come on. Stand up." He stood and pulled her with him by her wrists.

She lost her balance and pitched forward, her face landing right in the middle of his chest.

"You're not wearing a sshirt." She noticed, poking his chest for emphasis.

"I just got out of the shower." He explained.

She nodded in understanding, her head still laying against him, and let out a small exhale.

"You always smell sooo goood. Did you know that?" She asked, nuzzling into him further.

"Hn."

"Hnn." She mocked. "See how annoying that is? Is not a real answer..."

He just rolled his eyes and pushed her away from him enough to look her in the eyes.

"Can you walk?"

"Dunno. The bookshelfs had to help me earlier." She told him, giggling.

He rolled his eyes once more and picked up her up in his arms bridal style.

"Why did you drink that?" He questioned.

"Umm, I wanted something to take my mind off you, but then you showed up. It didn't help very long." She explained, staring at him intently.

Her eyes found their way to his lips. They looked so soft and smooth and Sakura couldn't help but put a hand up to his cheek and graze her thumb across them as he had done to her the month before. He hesitated at her touch, stopping in the middle of the hallway, looking down into her seafoam green eyes.

"See how disracting it is?" She murmured, her gaze still focused on his lips. "Thas why I wass looking at you the way idid."

He just nodded in agreement still not moving.

"Sassuke?" She inquired.

He said nothing, just continued to stare at her as she stroked her finger across his lips.

"I wantto kiss you right now." She said bluntly, looking up into his eyes to judge his reaction, but was cut off from them when he dropped his lids, and tightened his grip on her infinitesimally.

"You can't say things like that Sakura." He whispered.

"Why not?" She asked, moving her hand from his lips to brush her fingertips across his eyelids softly, and had the satisfaction of watching them open once more so she could look into his dark orbs. "It's the truth."

He groaned lightly, and then continued to carry her down the hall.

"Whereare we going?" She inquired.

"The kitchen. You need something in your system besides whiskey."

"So that's what it wass!" She said excitedly.

"Yes, but don't drink it again."

"I likeit though..."She grumbled, her words beginning to blend together.

"It's bad for you, and your underage." He argued.

He walked into the kitchen and sat her down on the countertop, turning to find some Tylenol and make her a cup of coffee. Once he had everything he came back to stand in front of her and held the small pills out to her in the palm of his hand, the coffee mug sitting in the other.

"Drink." He ordered.

She plucked the tablets from his hand and tossed them in her mouth, washing them down with a gulp of coffee, grimacing at the taste.

"Couldn't you've at least put creeam and sugarr in it?" She asked, dissatisfied.

"Just drink it." He commanded once more.

She wrinkled her nose at the cup, but brought it back to her lips and guzzled the rest of it down. When she was done she placed it on the counter next to her and faced Sasuke with a proud smile on her face.

"There." She said. "All done."

"Good." He nodded in satisfaction, stepping forward to pick her up once more. "Now you should go to bed and sleep this off."

"Wait." She pleaded. "Itsstill early."

"It's after eleven o'clock." He corrected, pointing to where the time flashed on the microwave. "You're lucky we're on Fall break and we don't have school tomorrow."

She groaned and flopped her head onto his shoulder before her, and loosely wrapped her arms around his neck.

"But I'm nottireed." She whined.

"Alcohol does that." He explained. "You're still going to bed."

"Nooo!" She cried, tightening her arms and wrapping her legs around his waist so he couldn't move. "Please dont make mee."

"Sakura, let go." He demanded.

"But I like being close to you." She argued, frowing up at him.

"It's not appropriate." He reasoned.

"Noones here." She pouted. "You don't like me do you?"

He let out a humorless laugh.

"That's definitely not it."

"Then what isit?" She asked, unconciously running her fingers through the back of his hair.

"Not now." He said, more to himself than her. "Your drunk."

"So?"

After a moment of contemplation he seemed to come to a decision and placed his hands on either side of her hips on the counter and brought their forheads together, lightly brushing his nose against hers.

"You are so annoying." He whispered.

Sakura was about to respond, but before she could he had skimmed his lips across hers and she could no longer remember what she was going to say. She looked into his eyes for a moment, seeing the want there, the _desire_ , and pulled his lips back to hers more forcefully.

She felt him sag against her and his hands moved from the countertop to slowly wrap around her waist, pressing her closer to him. Holding her still he kissed her passionately and then suddenly sucked her bottom lip between his and nipped it lightly. She gasped in pleasure, and he took that opportunity to slide his tongue into her open mouth. She felt his tongue slide sensuously agaisnt her own, and knew he could taste the acohol on her breath. He didn't seem to mind as he searched every crevice, and when he brushed his tongue against hers once more she hesitantly followed his lead and slipped hers past his lips, earning a groan of approval from him. Sakura felt herself go lightheaded from the lack of oxygen, but she didn't care. She just didn't want this moment to ever end.

Soon enough they were battling for dominance over the kiss. Sakura couldn't seem to get enough of his taste. It was positively addictive, but she didn't complain when he pulled away minutes later, allowing her to catch her breath, in order to trail open mouthed kisses down her throat and back up to her ear, taking the lobe between his teeth and tugging gently causing her to moan at the overwhelming feel of the new sensations she was experiencing.

The throaty sound seemed to have jolted him out of his daze though, because suddenly he removed his mouth from her body and was untangling himself from her limbs and backing away, raking a hand through his hair. They sat there for a few minutes, both sucking in oxygen and trying to control their loud breathing.

"I shouldn't have done that." He whispered, breaking the silence.

Sakura just wet her lips, feeling that they were red and puffy from their kiss, and slid herself off the counter. Sasuke stepped forward with outstretched arms when he saw her wobble, but she gained her balance and grabbed his face between her small hands making him look at her and notice the determination in her eyes.

"I don't regret a thing." She enunciated, careful to get her words correct this time. "I understand if you do though, just please don't ignore me again. If you want me to back off I will, but it hurts me when you do that."

Taking his time to study her face, he eventually slid one of his hands up her arm to rest atop her own, and gave a slight nod. She searched his eyes intently, looking for any sign that he might be lying to her, but found none.

"Okay." She nodded, not moving from her postition.

She knew the second that one of them moved it would be over and she would probably never get another moment like this with him again. She felt his thumb brushing across the knuckles of her fingers, and allowed that to give her the courage she needed to lightly press her lips against his one last time before walking out of the room as best she could. As she made her way to the stairs, she heard the sounds of shattering glass coming from the kitchen behind her.

* * *

 **Alright, it's time for honesty hour. Did the kissing scene suck? I wrote it and rewrote it so much. Since this is my first story I've obviously never written anything like that before so I wasn't sure how it turned out. I hope its okay, and I know most of you are probably cursing me for ending the SasuSaku moment so abruptly again, but it can't be that easy for them or it wouldn't be interesting. At least that's how I look at it. Also, did you all enjoy drunk Sakura? That was quite fun for me to write. Don't forget to review! I'll stop writing without them...not really, but I do love to read them :)**


	8. Date with the Devil

**First, I just want to thank everyone for the awesome reviews! They made me really happy.**

 **Secondly, there is a small tidbit of this chapter from Sasuke's POV. It's super short, but I had to put it in so I hope you all like it.**

 **Also, I feel like it's been a long time (for me anyways) since I last updated. I just want to apologize for that, but be prepared for my chapters to slow down within the next week because I'm going on vacation and I'm not sure how much time I'll have available to write, but I'll do my best.**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

Sakura heard a distant thumping that roused her from sleep the next morning. She rolled over with a faint groan and threw the pillow over her head in an effort to drown out the noise. With every thump the pounding in her head only seemed to grow. She was now feeling the after-effects of that bottle of whiskey.

 _Thump, thump._

"Please make it stop." She whimpered.

 _Thump, thump._

"Jeez! What is that?" She grumbled, tossing the covers aside and standing to walk over to the window.

 _Thump, thump._

She pulled her blinds up and looked down to see Sasuke on the basketball court, which happened to be directly below her room. The thumping she'd been hearing was his constant dribbling of the ball.

"Does he really have to do that so early?" She complained, rubbing her temples in an effort to soothe the ache in her head.

Glancing around her room Sakura's eyes landed on her alarm clock, which had been shut off for the week since it was Fall break, and saw that it was past twelve in the afternoon. Hanging her head in disappointment, realizing it wasn't early at all, she went to the bathroom and brushed her teeth and washed her face. Afterwards she grabbed her favorite casual attire; a pair of faded jeans, a plain white t-shirt, and a pair of gray Vans. Once she'd retied her hair on top of her head, which had fallen down in her sleep, she tugged her navy blue cotton jacket off the back of her door and headed outside, grabbing a few Tylenol along the way.

Coming upon the basketball court she stood at the edge for a moment and just watched as Sasuke made shot after shot. He knew she was standing there but didn't acknowledge her presence till she walked up next to him and silently held her hands out for the ball. He gave it to her and watched with amusement as she sailed the ball through the air and it went three feet over the goal.

"Okay." She said lightly. "So I suck, but I've never played before."

"It's obvious." He deadpanned.

She stuck her tongue out at him as he walked away to get the ball she'd launched halfway into the yard.

"Do you play for the school?" She asked when he returned.

"Hn." He replied, and went back to playing without her.

Sakura watched as he deftly dribbled the ball and then ran up to the goal, jumping several feet into the air and dunked it with a loud slam. The ball rolled into the yard, but this time Sasuke made no move to get it, he just stood there, so Sakura went after it instead.

"You know," She began, jogging up to him. "No one likes a showoff Sasuke."

He turned his head in her direction upon hearing her words.

"You do." He said bluntly.

Sakura blushed lightly, recalling their kiss last night, but tried not to feel too badly embarassed by it.

"Should we talk about that?" She asked hesitantly.

"There's nothing to talk about." He stated. "It'll never happen again."

She had a feeling he would say something along those lines, but she still felt a slight pang in her heart. As much as she knew that it was a small moment of insanity for Sasuke, that kiss was probably the highlight of her life, and a part of her had hoped that maybe something would come of it. She tried not to get too upset, feeling grateful that at least she knew to move on now instead of falling for him completely and finding out later.

"I know." She agreed. "That's why when Gaara called me last night-"

"Who?" He questioned.

"Gaara." She repeated. "He goes to our school. I'm sure you know him. He's got bright red hair and blue eyes; good friends with Naruto. That's how we met."

"I know him." He confirmed. "I've never met him though."

"Oh. Well, he called me last night before I went to sleep and he..." Sakura paused, feeling Sasuke's eyes on her like a heatwave, making her nervous. "He asked me to Homecoming, and I said yes."

She saw surprise register on Sasuke's face as he clenched his fists and then scowled at her menacingly.

"Why would you do that?" He growled.

She stood there shocked for a moment. She had a feeling Sasuke wouldn't be happy about her date with Gaara, but she didn't think he would get this upset. He'd just confirmed that nothing would ever happen between the two of them, so why should he care if she dated someone else?

"Because he seems like a nice guy." She stated defiantly, staring up at him, feeling her own anger kick in.

"So you'll just make out with me one day and then date him the next?" Sasuke demanded. "I didn't realize you were that kind of girl."

"What the hell is that suppose to mean?" She shouted.

"It means that obviously you just want male attention and you don't care who you get it from. Just like every other girl at school."

"That's not fair." She stated simply. "You _just_ turned me down. Also, you started that kiss last night, not me, so it's not exactly like I planned to makeout with you and then go out with him. You've made it clear that you don't want to be with me, so why are you so upset if I go on a date with someone else anyways?"

Sasuke snapped his mouth shut at that, apparently not having a very good answer and turned to leave. He'd only taken a few steps across the court when Sakura took the basketball she still held in her hands and threw it at him. She was aiming for his head, but missed and it smacked right between his shoulder blades. He stopped in his tracks and turned to glare at her.

"You don't get to do that." She said, walking up to him and getting in his face. "You don't get to demand answers from me and then just walk away when I ask you a question. Why are you so upset, huh? It's okay for me to want you but nobody else?"

"That's not it." He ground out.

"Then what?"

"I'm not arguing with you anymore." He stated.

"You don't even have an answer do you?"

He just ignored her, and turned his back, walking inside the house and slamming the door closed on his way.

* * *

Fall break had passed slowly after their argument. The days seemed to drag by, heavy with all the tension between the two teens. Three days into their silent standoff Sakura found Sasuke inside the theater watching a movie and snacking on a bowl of M&M's. She'd walked over and plopped down into one of the plush lounge chairs next to his. He'd watched her silently, waiting to see what her actions would be. She'd just grabbed a handful of the chocolate, and faced the screen. After quietly munching on the candy for a few minutes she finally spoke.

"I thought I told you not to ignore me again..."

Sasuke visibly relaxed and placed the bowl between them, so now they could both easily reach inside as they continued to watch the movie together.

They'd reached a slight truce after that. As long as Sakura didn't mention Gaara and their date then everything was fine, and as long as Sasuke didn't get upset when she recieved a call from him then she didn't ask why he cared. Now it was their first day back, and they were both a little hesitant to step inside the school walls, knowing that certain people inside would complicate things between them, no longer having the solitude of the manor as a safehaven.

Since they'd gotten over their disagreement they'd chosen to ride to school with Naruto again, deciding it was stupid for them to take separate cars if they were all going to the same place. Stepping out of the car, Sakura stood preparing to face the day, when she felt an arm sling over her shoulders. She looked up to see Naruto grinning down at her.

"I'm just so glad you and Sasuke are friends again." He said happily. "Being in the middle of that was tough, but now it's all good and we can ride to school together like we use to. This is the best!"

"You're such a dobe." Sasuke said, shaking his head.

"I missed this too." She assured Naruto, who looked at Sasuke in an 'I told you so' manner.

They all walked together to homeroom, but Sakura noticed Sasuke tense halfway down the hall. She stopped along with him and Naruto, and tugged lightly on his sleave.

"Is everything okay?" She asked, looking at him with concern.

"I'm fine." He said harshly. "Your date's waiting for you though."

Sakura turned to look back down the hall and sure enough Gaara was standing at the entrance to their homeroom. She bit her lip lightly, unsure how to handle the situation. She didn't want to do anything that would upset Sasuke again, but she also didn't want to be rude and ignore Gaara. Luckily, Naruto noticed her hesitation and spoke up.

"Hey Sasuke." The blond said, gaining his friends attention. "I forgot all about it until now, but we're suppose to go to the gym and pick up some paper work from Coach Guy about the new season. If we hurry we can get back in time."

"Hn." The raven haired boy responded, giving Gaara one last glare before turning around and going back the way they came.

"Thank you." Sakura mouthed to Naruto, who just smiled in response and followed after Sasuke.

Sakura took a deep breath and turned to face Gaara, plastering a smile on her face, trying to pretend that there wasn't just a very tense and awkward moment.

"Hey." She greeted, once she was standing a few feet away.

"He doesn't like me very much does he?" Gaara asked, nodding his head in the direction that Naruto and Sasuke had taken.

"Who? Naruto?" She questioned, hoping beyond hope that he meant the blond and not the other boy she'd been with.

"No. The other one. I don't know his name." He corrected.

"Sasuke." She told him. "He doesn't know you, and he doesn't really like anybody, so it's nothing personal."

"He seems to like you." Gaara stated.

"We just live together, so it's kind of necessary that we get along." She shrugged casually.

'Except for when we're fighting every other week.'

Gaara just nodded his head in understanding, still staring down the hall in contemplation.

"Did you tell him we're going to the dance together?" He asked casually.

"Yeah." Sakura admitted. "I did. Why?"

"Just making sure no one is trying to steal my date." He joked.

"Oh, no. Sasuke and I aren't like that. We're just friends."

 **'Unfortunately.' Inner pouted.**

'Be quiet.' She hushed.

"Good." Gaara said satisfied. "I've got to get to class, but I'll talk to you later okay?"

"Sure." She agreed, and gave him a hug goodbye and headed into homeroom.

* * *

Sasuke walked down the hallway with Naruto, scanning the papers they'd gotten from their basketball coach. It appeared to be the same thing they recieved every year; explaining their training regiment and practice schedule, when their first game would be, etc. He tried his best to use this welcome distraction to take his mind off of a certain pink haired girl, but was failing miserably. Barely even able to register the words on the papers before him, all he could think about was her, and her _date_. He didn't understand what she saw in Gaara. He'd never met the guy, but he had a bad feeling about him.

He only partially paid attention to whatever Naruto was chatting about next to him, but his ears perked up at the mention of Sakura's name. Turning his head to face the blond he heard him rambling on about how he thought the season would be this year, and Sasuke then realized he wasn't the one who'd said her name. It was a voice coming from around the corner.

"Be quiet." Sasuke told Naruto, who immediately frowned, but did as he was told.

Sasuke stopped just before they rounded the corner, and heard a voice mention Sakura again, this one was lower than the last.

"The new girl?" The voice asked.

"Yeah." Said another. "I called her a few nights ago and asked her. I couldn't have timed it better if I tried. She was obviously drunk and half asleep."

"I can't believe your actually going to Homecoming. Even if it is just so she'll sleep with you." The first voice spoke once more.

Sasuke felt his blood boil at those words. Clearly this was Gaara talking to one of his friends and he only asked Sakura out to make her another conquest. He refused to let that happen, and it was clear the blond next to him agreed. Naruto was practically seething with rage at this point, also having heard every word. He tried to walk around the corner to confront Gaara, but Sasuke stopped him with a hand on his shoulder. Instead he stepped out and headed towards the red haired male who was now speaking.

"Have you seen her?" Sasuke heard him ask his friend. "It's worth it."

His friend, a brunette with spiky hair and dark eyes, opened his mouth to respond, but stopped when they finally noticed Sasuke's approach. Outwardly no one woud guess that he was picturing choking the readhead within an inch of his life. He kept his face free of emotion, and cooly walked towards the pair. When he greeted them and stretched out his hand, his voice was calm and even. He gave nothing away. Not until Gaara placed a hand in his and there was a sudden snap.

"What the fuck?" Gaara cried out, clutching his wrist.

His friend looked ready to defend him, but Sasuke's warning glare clearly told him to back down. Turning his gaze back to the boy whose broken hand was still in his grasp he felt fire burning in his eyes.

"Touch her," He threatened, murderous intent clear in voice. "and next time I'll break your arm. Don't let me catch you anywhere near her again. Understand?"

He squeezed Gaara's wrist for emphasis, not bothering to wait for confirmation, a part of him hoping that the boy wouldn't obey his words just so he could have the satisfaction of fighting him. He signaled for Naruto to follow, and then they headed down the hall towards homeroom where Sakura was waiting.

* * *

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Sakura demanded, slamming open the door to Sasuke's room, not even pausing at the fact that he was standing in nothing but a towel.

He glanced over his shoulder at her entrance and then returned to what he'd been doing, which appeared to be rummaging through his dresser.

"You should knock." He stated simply.

"You broke his wrist?" She shrieked as if he'd never spoken. "Are you insane?"

"You broke Karin's nose." He reminded.

"She was spreading rumors about my deceased parents, not trying to take you on a date, although I'm sure the idea has crossed her mind."

"You can do better." He said with a shrug of his shoulders.

"You can't do this!" She yelled, fisting her hands in her hair. "You can't decide who I can and cannot date."

"You can do better." He repeated.

"You don't get to decide that." She replied angrily. "Do you just not want me to be happy? Is this about your family spending so much time with me as a kid? Is that what this is about?"

He just looked at her, completely dumbfounded by her question.

"What then? Why else would you do this?" She demanded.

"You don't even know him."

"That was the whole point of the date!" She exclaimed. "So I could get to know him, and see if there was something between us."

"Why?" He questioned.

"Because of you!" She admitted. "Don't you get it? It's all because of you! We kissed and you regretted it, but I didn't, and he was there. You had just turned me down and he offered the perfect opportunity to move on, so I took it! Not that it matters anyway. Even though you don't want me, apparently no one else can have me. It doesn't matter what I want."

"It's not like that." He stated, staring strongly into her shimmering green eyes.

"What's really sad is that I knew nothing would come of it anyways." She continued miserably. "It didn't work. Nothing does. Your all that I think about, _all_ the time, and it drives me crazy. I can't get you out of my head, and your always there...looking like _that_." She gestured to the towel around his waist.

"How could I ever move on when I have a constant reminder of what I really want right in front of me every day? I mentally kick myself for caring as much as I do, but I can't help it. I'm sorry, but I just can't."

"Sakura.." He said quietly, taking a few steps towards her.

"No!" She said, holding a hand up between them. "You can't do what you did, and then try to comfort me. This is your fault. You can't make this better. Not this time."

He ignored her protests and continued closer. When he reached for her she tried to push him away, but he didn't budge. He just wrapped her in his arms and tucked her head under his chin.

"God, I hate you." She cursed. "This isn't fair. You shouldn't be able to make me feel like this. Not when you don't even care."

"I heard him talking to a friend." Sasuke confessed. "He said the only reason he asked you out was so he could sleep with you. That's why I broke his wrist."

Sakura processed his words, wishing they weren't true but somehow knowing that they were. She felt herself sag against him in defeat, but his arms prevented her from sliding to the ground. She squeezed her eyes shut to try and block out the thoughts coursing through her brain, but they continued, and it just made her already crazy emotions that much harder to control.

"I hate it when your right." She muttered, curling her hands into small fists against his chest.

"What was I right about this time?" He asked softly.

"I can do better."

"Hn."

They stayed like that for several moments. Sakura tried to reign in her emotions as Sasuke held her, occasionaly running a hand over her hair in a soothing gesture. She appreciated his efforts, knowing that any attempt to comfort another person was out of his element, but he was trying anyways. Luckily, she didn't know Gaara too well, and wasn't completely heartbroken by his betrayal. She admitted as much to him aloud.

"I'll be okay. I barely knew him, so it's not a huge letdown."

Sasuke sighed and lightly kissed the top of her head.

"I'm sorry."

Sakura pulled her head back just enough to look him in the eyes at hearing those words.

"Did you just apologize?" She asked, slightly amazed.

"Don't tell the dobe." He replied casually.

"He wouldn't believe me even if I did."

He smirked at that and returned her head to where it had been laying on his chest moments before.

* * *

 **So, did any of you actually see the whole Gaara thing coming? I wanted it to be a total surprise, but I'm sure many of you knew I would throw a wrench in their relationship somehow. I hope you all liked the small section from Sasuke's POV. I'm definitely going to do more I just want to make sure I can really grasp his personality and how he thinks before I write an entire chapter from his perspective. Also, I'm sorry this chapter is kind of sort. I just felt like where I had it was the perfect stopping point and any continuation I really just wanted to be the beginning of the next chapter. Thanks for reading and please, please, please review!**


	9. Date with Destiny

**Whew! That was a super fast update, but it was running through my head and I had time on my hands so I just decided to go ahead and write it.**

 **There will be slight violence in this chapter.**

 **Thanks for the wonderful reviews again, and enjoy!**

* * *

Sakura was walking to her last class of the day, English, with Hinata by her side. The dark haired beauty had finally come out of her shell enough that she was able to talk to Sakura without stuttering. They chatted happily about the school dance; Sakura was trying to convince her to ask Naruto, but Hinata adamantly refused. She was afriad of getting turned down, and as someone who had recently been shot down herself she understood the girls hesitancy, but she honestly believed Naruto would say yes if she asked.

'Maybe I can get Naruto to ask her somehow.' Sakura mused.

They'd just reached the entrance to their classroom when a voice called from behind them.

"Hey, Sakura."

She turned to see Gaara walking towards her, his hand in a cast from where Sasuke had broken it just the day before. Her cheerful mood immediately diminished upon sighting him. After what Sasuke had told her she was no longer interested in even trying to be friends with the boy. She never approved of those who would use people and their feelings for some kind of sick game, so Gaara was now at the top of her list of least favorite people. Only one spot below Karin.

'What is it with redheads?' She pondered.

"What do you want Gaara?" She asked in a bored tone, Hinata standing dutifully by her side having been told what happened.

"I just wanted to talk to you about what happened yesterday. I'm not sure what Sasuke told you-" He tried to explain but was cut off.

"He told me the truth." Sakura bit out. "Unlike you, so I'm sure you could've guessed this, but just in case I'll be straightforward. I'm not going to Homecoming with you. Find someone else."

"Just let me-"

"No." She interrupted once more. "Listen, I honestly don't care what you have to say. There are no words that could possibly change my mind, so just save us both some time and stop talking."

Sakura turned away from him to head inside the classroom, but she felt a harsh grip on her arm spin her back around before she got even a foot away and slammed her into the wall causing her head to hit the stone with a loud smack. She squeezed her eyes shut at the sudden throb in the back of her skull, but blinked them open a moment later to find bright blue eyes turned hard with anger.

"This is because of him isn't it? It's got nothing to do with me. You're just another one of those girls that's obsessed with Sasuke Uchiha, but he'll only use you." Gaara mocked.

"You mean like you were going to?" She shot back.

He narrowed his eyes at her comment, but remained silent.

"Yeah. That's what I thought. Now let me go." Sakura demanded.

Gaara only tightened his deathgrip on her upper arm, causing her to wince slightly. She would definitely be bruised once this was all over. She was about to headbutt him right in the nose if he didn't let go of her soon, but before she even finished her thought someone spun Gaara around and socked him right in the jaw. Once, twice, three more times and pinned him to the wall with a forearm pressed against his throat.

"I thought I told you not to let me catch you anywhere near her again?" She heard Sasuke question softly, but felt the underlying menace in his tone.

"Are you okay?"

Her attention was temporarily diverted from the two boys next to her as she looked over and saw Naruto and Hinata looking at her with concern. She lightly ran a hand over the back of her head, feeling a slight bump there, but knew she would be fine.

"I'm alright." She assured. "But we need to stop them."

At that all three pairs of eyes looked over at the spectacle that was Sasuke and Gaara. It seemed as if every student in the school was in the hallway at that moment. There was hardly any room to stand, and if Sakura hadn't been there when it all started she probably wouldn't be able to see a thing. Naruto suddenly stepped forward, and pushed the two apart. Sasuke looked ready to tackle him to the ground at the interference, but Sakura walked up to him before he could get that far.

"Let it go." She urged him. "I'm fine, and he's not worth it."

It was as if Sasuke didn't even hear her, he just vaguely noticed an obsticle in his path and went to brush past her, but she stopped him, placing her hands on his chest and pushing backwards as hard as she could. He stopped moving, but still he didn't look at her, his attention completely focused on Naruto talking Gaara down. She placed her hands on either side of his face and pulled his head down until onyx eyes met turquoise ones.

"Stop." She commanded. "Just calm down. I'm fine. Everything is fine."

This time her words registered and she felt him stop to think, but he was obviously still seething. His whole body seemed to vibrate and his breath was coming in short, shallow pants. She tried to come up with a way to calm him down, and did the only thing she could think of. She grabbed his hand and began pulling him away from Gaara, and through the crowd of people until she reached the school parking lot. He remained silent the entire way, and didn't even say a word as she dug one of her hands into his front pocket and pulled out his car keys.

"Let's go." She ordered, unlocking the doors and climbing into the drivers side. She watched through the windshield as he inwardly debated on whether to get in the car with her or go back inside and finish what he started. After a moment he grabbed the doorhandle and got in. Clearly reason had won him over this time.

"Good choice." She nodded, and drove away from the school.

"Where are we going?" Sasuke asked, staring out the window with his arms crossed.

"Home. Hopefully Naruto and Hinata can come up with excuses for our absence, but it's only one class so we should be fine. However, the entire student body saw you punch Gaara so we'll have to wait and see if you get suspended or not." She explained.

"Hn."

She let out a soft sigh. Clearly he was going to be in a terrible mood the rest of the day. She turned on the radio to fill the silence in the car, and tried to enjoy the drive home.

* * *

"Hold still."

"I don't need it." Sasuke refused.

"Yes you do." Sakura argued. "Now stop acting like a child and let me see your hand."

Sasuke sat on the couch, with Sakura standing before him with one had on her hip, the other clutching an ice pack. She glared down at him, daring him to defy her. She watched as he rolled his eyes, but did as she had requested. She gentley held his hand in hers and inspected his knuckles. They were all bruised and a few were bleeding. She sat the ice pack down on the coffee table to go get a washcloth and some disinfectanct from the bathroom. When she returned a moment later he was talking on his phone with a deep frown on his otherwise perfect face.

"He shouldn't have called you." Sasuke muttered.

 _"I'm glad he did. What the hell were you thinking Sasuke?" She heard Itachi yell from the other end._

"I wasn't." He admitted gruffly.

 _"You know the kind of scrutiny we're all under. You can't just go around school getting into fights whenever you feel like it." Itachi scolded._

Sasuke just let out a long winded sigh and let him continue.

 _"That being said, Naruto told me everything."_

"Hn."

 _"Did you hurt him too badly?"_

"I just hit him a few times, but I broke his wrist yesterday." He confessed.

 _"Good." Itachi said darkly. "The bastard got what he deserved then. Take care of Sakura. We'll be home soon."_

And then the line went dead and Sasuke shoved his phone back in his pocket. She retook her spot in front of him and grabbed his hand to survey it once more. She lightly cleaned the blood from his knuckles and then placed the ice pack on top of it. She felt him staring at her, but kept her focus on his hand. After holding it there for a few minutes she removed it to test how badly injured he was. She gently prodded certain areas, gauging his reaction. If he was in pain he gave nothing away.

"You're lucky you didn't break anything." She said, returning the ice pack to lay on top of his hand once more. She gave him his hand back, but kept her position in front of him with arms crossed in front of her chest.

"I'd do it again." He shrugged.

Her brows rose at that. She'd been positive that he would feel guilty for doing something so foolish that could possbily reflect badly on his family, but he clearly meant his words.

"If I didn't know any better," She began. " I would think you were jealous."

She saw his eyes sublty shift away from her to look over her shoulder, suddenly very interested in the grandfather clock that stood behind her. It was like a 'Jackpot' sign lit up in her head.

"Oh my God..." She whispered. "You _were_ jealous."

"You're amazingly oblivious." He told her.

"What does that mean?"

"It means that despite my best efforts, my jealousy was fairly obvious to everyone but you."

She took a moment to wonder who exactly he meant by 'everyone' but didn't let that distract her for long.

"I tend to not put too much faith in things that generally seem too good to be true, because they usually are. Especially where I'm concerned." She explained with a wave of her hand.

And then it hit her. He was actually _jealous_. He was jealous that she was going to the Homecoming with Gaara, and you didn't get jealous over somebody unless you had feelings for them. She felt her eyes go wide at the realization, and her arms fell limply to her sides. He actually cared about her, and that gave her a whole new topic to focus on.

"Then why did you keep pushing me away?" She questioned, suddenly angry with him. "Your mood swings were pratically giving me whiplash. Do you know how frustrating it was to wake up every day and wonder which Sasuke I was going to be dealing with? You drove me half insane."

He just smirked in the face of her anger, not even fazed.

"I'm not good enough for you." He told her truthfully. "No one is, so I tried to stay away from you. Hoping that if I just kept my distance you wouldn't end up feeling the way I did. Plus, Itachi told me not to go there before you even moved in with us. He's not protective of much, but he is where your concerned. He rarely asks for anything and at the time I wanted nothing to do with you, so it was easy to agree."

She scowled at the thought of Itachi butting into her personal life, and remembered back to what he'd said when she first got here. That her personality would appeal to Sasuke somehow, or something like that.

'I guess he was right.'

"Then I got to know you, and it was like you were under my skin. I couldn't stop thinking about you and you were everywhere I went. After that you got harder to ignore, and when you told me about Gaara...Well, just imagining you with someone else was tough, so I decided to stop trying to fight this."

"What do you mean by that exactly?" She asked, needing to understand what he meant by not fighting it anymore.

Instead of responding to her question with words he grabbed her hand and yanked her into his lap. Before she could even process the change, his arms were wrapped around her waist and he'd burried his nose in her hair. She heard him inhale softly, smelling the scent of her stawberry shampoo. He ran his lips lightly up her throat, gently enough that they barely touched her, but enough to make her shiver. He then brought his lips to hers. Kissing her once, twice, until he pressed their lips together firmly and then ran his tongue along her bottom lip, asking for entrance. She immediately opened and felt his tongue enter her mouth as it had the first time they'd kissed. Only this time she didn't hesitate to kiss him back. She ran her tongue along the roof of his mouth and twisted it with his own. She lifted her arms around his neck and fisted them in his hair as their kiss became stronger, more urgent.

He pulled them apart to kiss his way down her neck, sucking lightly at the junture where it met her shoulder, and she let out a soft whimper. She felt his lips turn up into a smug smirk, and then he continued with his minstrations. He slowly worked his way up and placed a soft kiss behind her ear.

"Will you go to Homecoming with me Sakura?" He whispered huskily, his breath tickling her.

She wanted to answer but kept losing her train of thought as his lips worked his way back down her neck, across her collarbone, and back up the other side to nibble lightly on her ear. She felt as if she'd melt when he did that, and it made it damn near impossible for her to form a coherent sentence, but she managed to gasp out two words.

"Can't...focus..." She breathed.

She felt his chest rumble with silent laughter against her. He drew himself upright to look her in the eyes, but pecked her lips once more before deciding to let her speak. She slowly lifted her heavy lids, which had apparently closed at some point, and looked into his smoldering black orbs. She felt her chest heaving from lack of oxygen, and pulled in deep breaths.

"Sakura?" He murmured.

"Hmm..."

"Answer the question."

She thought back on his words, trying her best to come up with an answer to whatever it was he'd asked her. Truthfully, she was still slightly distracted by his hand, which was currently rubbing up and down her back. It was probably meant as an encouraging gesture, but it was having a much different effect on her.

"Homecoming." He reminded her softly. "Will you go with me?"

She just nodded mutely, her eyes soley focused on his lips. They were slightly red and swollen, and she wanted to continue the process that had made them that way. He clearly understood the trail of her thoughts, because seconds later his lips were back on hers and neither one of them did much talking for a while.

* * *

"So what do you think?"

"Homecoming?" He mused.

"Yes..."

"It's not a bad idea. I've never been before though." He admitted.

"That's exactly why you should go." Sakura hinted. "With a date."

She'd been sitting on the back porch for several hours, working her way up to a conversation about Homecoming. Her butt was sore from sitting so long, but she decided it would be worth it if her plan actually worked. She looked at her blond friend sitting across from her with high hopes. So far everything was going as planned.

"Maybe." Naruto drawled. "Who would I ask though?"

"You have all kinds of girl friends. Just think of one you wouldn't mind going with."

"I wouldn't mind going with any of them." He stated.

"What if it were a date? Would that narrow it down?" She questioned.

"Yeah."

"Well..."

She was starting to get a little antsy. All she needed was for him to say the right thing and she'd probably jump out of her seat with excitement. She was _this_ close to bringing together two people who would be absolutely perfect with each other if they'd just see it.

"They just see me as friends though. If I asked they wouldn't even think of it as a date." Naruto explained.

She wanted to smack her head on the table. He was seriously dense sometimes, but she just had to prod him along and he'd come to the right conclusion eventually.

"Okay, just picture your ideal girl. What does she look like?"

"I thought you weren't suppose to judge based on looks?"

"Just do it!" She commanded, getting impatient.

"Fine." Naruto mumbled. "I guess she'd have long hair, but not as long as yours...no offense."

"None taken." She promised.

"Pretty eyes, and a nice smile." He continued.

"Go on."

"I prefer dark hair..." He mused.

"Great. What else?"

"That's all I got." He shrugged.

"Okay. So, out of the girls you would ask who fits that description best?"

"Um..." He scratched the back of his head in thought.

"Naruto.."Sakura grumbled.

"I'm thinking." He assured, putting his hands up in a 'calm down' manner.

"Fine."

"I guess if I had to pick one..."

"Yes..." She urged, leaning forward intently.

"It would probably be..."

She leaned forward another few inches, practically falling out of her seat at this point.

"Hinata." He decided.

"Thank God!" Sakura cheered with excitement, throwing her arms in the air. "Why don't you go ahead and ask her?"

"Right now?" He panicked.

"Yes. Right now. Just drive over there and ask her. She won't be able to say no."

"Neji'll kill me." Naruto fretted.

"Not once he sees how happy she is. Now go." She demanded, pointing in the direction of his car.

"You're quite bossy lately." He remarked as he walked past her.

"You'll thank me later." She promised.

She watched as Naruto's blond head disappeared around the corner of the house, walking to the large driveway. As soon as he was out of sight she spun around and threw her hands up in the air once more with a leap of triumph.

"Yes!" She cheered. "It took long enough."

"Woah...who won the lottery?" Came Itachi's voice from behind her.

"I finally convinced Naruto to ask Hinata to Homecoming." She explained with a grin.

"Really?"

"Yup." She nodded.

"It's about time those two went on a date." He commented.

"I know!" She agreed, and went to give him a hug. "When did you get back?"

"About an hour ago. I took a shower and talked to Shisui on the phone for a bit before I came to find you."

"How was your trip?" She asked, as they walked in the house with her arm around his waist and his over her shoulders.

"Productive. We managed to buy out our top competitor and succesfully merge the two companies."

"Cool. Sounds boring." She said flatly.

"I suppose it is, but it's the family business so I've grown up knowing I would have to deal with stuff like this."

"Does that mean Sasuke will join the company some day?" She pondered.

"Yes." Itachi confirmed. "Once he's ready our parents will step down and he and I will run the company together."

"That sounds like a lot of responsibility."

"It is, but Sasuke has a sharp mind and an uncanny ability to find peoples strengths and weaknesses. He'll make a great CEO someday."

"Doesn't he get a choice?" Sakura asked.

"Of course, but Sasuke's always shown an interest in running the company one day. I can't see him turning down the opportunity."

"I wouldn't." Sasuke spoke from behind them.

Sakura nearly jumped out of her skin. She hadn't heard anyone beside her and Itachi.

"Jeez! What is up with you guys and sneaking up behind people? One of these days I'll probably have a heart attack."

Itachi just laughed and squeezed her shoulder in reassurance, while Sasuke gave her his signature smirk.

"I guess we're just use to it." Itachi apologized.

"Well, it's going to take me a while so make more noise from now on."

"That's a new one." Itachi mused. "I'm not sure how my mother will feel about it."

They all momentarily pictured how Mikoto would deal with a loud house and winced at the idea. She was a naturally kind person, who loved her family above everything, but she could also be incredibly tough and strict when she wanted to. Everyone knew that she loved her peace and quiet and had raised her boys to be well-mannered and disciplined. She wouldn't settle for them stomping around the house. They all seemed to mentally throw the idea out the window at the same time.

"So, what did you two do while we were away?" He continued.

Sakura immediately felt the urge to blush, but tamped it down as best she could as to not give herself, and Sasuke, away. For his part, Sasuke stood there looking at his brother calm as ever. He didn't even so much as blink in response to Itachi's query. He just lifted one shoulder in a noncomital shrug and said, "Nothing really."

She didn't understand how he kept his cool all the time. Here she was trying not to turn the color of a tomato, and he didn't bat an eyelash as the lie tumbled from his lips. She wished she could read his mind and discover if he was just as calm and collected on the inside. A part of her hoped he wasn't.

Itachi just nodded slightly in understanding, and then they all made their way into the living room to sit down and take more time to catch up. Sakura listened avidly as Itachi told a story about how in one day the tire on his car had blown, making him late to a meeting, and then he was told his flight was delayed only to find out several hours later it was canceled altogether because of the weather. So he was forced to sleep at the airport and was an entire day behind schedule, but somehow managed to meet his parents in Chicago in time for them to all fly home together.

They sat there for quite some time exchanging stories and laughing at certain parts of jokes. Sakura settled comfortably into her chair, feeling a warmth in her chest at being surrounded by people she cared about and just being able to enjoy thier company. Her thoughts were interrupted when her phone began to buzz in her pocket. Pulling it out she saw her aunts picture flash on the screen, and excused herself to answer the call.

Sasuke and Itachi watched as she walked a few feet away and talked into the phone. They noticed as her once happy expression disappeared from her face, turning into one of disappointment and sadness. They saw her mumble into the phone and nodding her head along with whatever was said on the other line. When she hung up her arm fell loosely to her side and her phone slipped from her fingers, clanking to the floor. Both Uchiha's rose from their seats and walked over to where she stood before the stairway. Once they reached her, her eyes were glazed over and she wasn't even aware of their presence.

"Sakura?" Itachi asked, gently placing a hand on her shoulder. "What's wrong?"

She lightly jumped out of her dazed at his touch and turned to look at them with a sad smile.

"That was my aunt." She told them. "She found a place for us to live."

She saw both sets of dark eyes widen in surprise, and continued in a soft voice.

"We'll be out of the house by the end of the week."

* * *

 **I hope you all enjoyed the SasuSaku moment. Now that they've both admitted that they have feelings for each other there will definitely be less interruptions in their relationship. Sorry to drop the moving bomb on you all as soon as they sort of got together, but it was going to happen eventually and she's been with them for a while now so I figured it was time. Don't hate me! I hope you all enjoyed this and don't forget to review! Mwah!**


	10. Friend or Foe

**I am SO sorry it took so long to update. I was on vacation and I barely even touched my computer. What I did manage to write sucked. I felt completely out of touch from my story after having not been writing anything for a few days. I restarted this so many times.**

 **I hope it was worth the wait. If not then please don't kill me. I really tried!**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

Sakura laid flat on the couch inside the basement of the Uchiha manor. Her head was resting comfortably on Itachi's lap as they talked to Naruto and Sasuke, who sat in a pair of arm chairs across from them. She'd received the news of her impending move yesterday and at the moment they were all avoiding the topic like the plague. It was obvious that if they could then Naruto and Itachi would broach the subject, but didn't out of respect to Sakura, who was doing her absolute best to pretend the whole conversation had never happened and she was still going to be living in the manor at the end of the month. Sasuke had kept silent the entire time. If she had to judge by his behavior alone, then she would say it was just another day. He didn't look the slightest bit distressed. The most reaction she'd gotten from him was right after the phone call when he'd asked where she was moving.

While Sakura wasn't thrilled about her situation, she realized that moving was just inevitable, and she could do much worse than the place her aunt had found for them. It wasn't even that far from the manor, and after looking at the pictures online last night she knew there was no real reason she could come up with to not move into the modern, two story co-op. It just wasn't ideal in her mind. Sure she'd gotten use to the luxuries of the manor, but that wasn't why she didn't want to leave. It was the people that lived inside it. They made the large house feel like a home. She'd been searching for that since her parents died, but never could find it. She'd almost given up and then it had fallen in her lap without even noticing.

"What about Homecoming?" She heard Itachi ask, in hopes of distracting her from her thoughts.

"What about it?" Sakura asked, playing with a strand of hair to keep from peeking at Sasuke.

"Are you going?" He questioned. "I'd ask Naruto and Sasuke, but I already know the answer."

'Shit.' She thought in frustration.

The problems just kept coming. First it was the move and now this. She and Sasuke had never talked about how to deal with Itachi in terms of Homecoming. She knew that the elder Uchiha rarely made requests of others, and when he did it was pretty important. She also knew that Sasuke hated to betray the trust put in him, but she wasn't sure how he had planned to deal with the fact that he was taking her to the dance when it obviously went agaisnt his brothers wishes. She wasn't even sure if Sasuke had mentioned anything about it at all. Probably not, considering he'd asked her not long ago, and Itachi had just gotten home yesterday. Itachi most likely just assumed that Sasuke wasn't going because he never had before, and organized school functions weren't exactly his thing. She couldn't really ask Sasuke if she was doing the right thing in this situation so she just had to wing it and hope that everything worked out.

"I hadn't planned to after the whole Gaara situation. Plus, it's a little short notice to ask someone else to go now. The dance is next week." She answered, trying her best to sound offhanded about it.

"You shouldn't let a guy like him stop you from going." Itachi said, slight anger in his voice at the mention of the boy who'd treated her so poorly.

"It's not really about him. I wasn't planning to go at all and then he asked me, so I said yes. Now that's not happening, so I'm just back to where I started. That's all." She explained.

"Maybe you'll change your mind before Homecoming gets here."

"I doubt it."

Itachi let a small frown mar his beautiful face before addressing his brother. "I'm just surprised you're going Sasuke."

'Shit.' Her thought repeated.

She had stressed so much about the answer and she'd gotten it wrong. Apparently, Sasuke had told his older brother that he was going, but it was clear he didn't mention that he had planned to take her. She looked over at the raven haired boy to see if she could try and read how he felt about the situation, but when she saw him he had his usual calm expression on. Nothing seemed to faze him, but she was sure he wasn't thrilled with her screw up. Of course she could never have predicted that he'd told Itachi he was going.

"Hn."

"Who are you taking? You never told me any of this!" Naruto whined.

"Shut up dobe. It doesn't matter."

"Oh! Maybe we can go out on a double date before the dance!" Naruto pleaded enthusiastically. "Me and Hinata, and you and whoever you're taking."

"That's not a bad idea." Itachi mused from above her.

"Come on Sasuke! It'll be fun." The blond said with puppydog eyes.

"Fine." He relented, pinching the bridge of his nose in annoyance. "Would you just shut up about it."

Sakura sat up at the turn of events, and the sudden realization at just how badly she'd messed up. Since she had said no while Sasuke said yes, and now agreed to a double date with Naruto...he was going to have to ask someone else to Homecoming. She wanted to smack herself in the face at the thought. She'd finally gotten him to open up and admit he felt something for her, although she wasn't sure what just yet, and now she'd ruined it all with just a few words.

'Why couldn't I have just said maybe like a normal person?' She wondered internally.

* * *

"What are we going to do?" Sakura asked, pacing back and forth in her bedroom.

Sasuke leaned casually against the doorjam and watched her with assessing eyes. Once Naruto left, Itachi had gone to do some work in his office, leaving Sakura and Sasuke alone to finally talk about her little mishap. Of course Sasuke being who he was wanted as much privacy as possible and so they had taken the conversation up to Sakura's room on the third floor. Which happened to be as far away from Itachi as they could get at the moment.

"Aren't you going to say anything?" She questioned frantically.

"Quit freaking out. It's annoying." He stated flatly.

"If you think that's annoying then you should be in my position right now, because nothing is more annoying than watching you act completely indifferent about this."

"I'm not acting."

She stopped her pacing at that to turn and glare at the young Uchiha.

"So you don't care that you can't take me to Homecoming now?"

"You messed up. There's nothing I can do about it." He answered nonchalantly.

"Yes there is!" She returned. "We can go down stairs and talk to Itachi about this."

It was his turn to glare at her.

"You want me to go and tell my brother that I did the one thing he specifically asked me not to do? He'd never trust me again."

"I know that, but don't you hate lying to him?" She asked, feeling extremely guilty. "Don't you think he'd more concerned about you being happy than anything else?"

"I'm not unhappy." He replied, growing tired of their conversation.

In that moment Sakura came to understand the difference between the two of them. The largest one being that it was evident she cared more than he did. Yes, he had admitted that he wanted her, but that could be taken in strictly the physical sense. That seemed to be the only time he initiated anything with her, but it wasn't enough. She cared about him a lot. It wasn't love, but it was more than a crush, and she needed more than just desire from him. If he couldn't tell his brother anything then there was no possible chance of a relationship at all. Maybe he did want her, but that didn't mean that he cared, and Sakura got the feeling that even if he did she'd never hear him actually say it. He just wasn't that kind of person.

"Well I am." She said matter of factly. "I don't want to lie to him, so I'm not going to anymore."

"Sakura.." He warned.

"Don't worry." She said walking past him. "I'm not going to tell him anything. You're just going to take someone else to Homecoming and we are going to put all of this behind us."

"Meaning?" Sasuke asked.

"Meaning that I'm not sure what exactly it is that you feel for me, but it definitely isn't how I feel about you. I think the best thing to do is just forget anything ever happened with us. You don't want to break Itachi's trust and I don't want to lie and sneak around. That doesn't leave us many options. So lets just end this now. Nothing would have came from it anyways if we can't tell anyone."

"Wait." He spoke softly, grabbing her hand before she could walk off completely. "I told you I wasn't going to fight this anymore. I can't just go back to how it was."

"It'll never be the way it was Sasuke. I'll be gone by the end of the week, and you'll barely see me. I bet you'll barely remember any of this by the end of the school year." She answered despondently.

"That's really what you think?" He asked, suddenly angry. "That some time will go by and I'll just forget all about you?"

"That's what I'm hoping for." Sakura stated. "I'm not sure how you saw this playing out, but it would never have gotten very far if it kept on the way it was going. I want to be with someone that I can actually be seen in public with and not have to worry about the consequences. I can't do that with you."

"It was the Homecoming Sakura." He said with malice. "It's not like we were actually dating."

She felt the urge to flinch at his words. His voice was so uncaring. It wasn't at all like the Sasuke she'd come to know. The Sasuke that he only showed to her. She knew that they weren't in a relationship, and he was just taking her to a school dance, but she thought it meant something. Apparently not, but if he wanted to be angry at her instead of the situation then two could play that game.

"Of course not." She hissed back. "You had no intention of that. You were just going to use me like Gaara. Something to play with and occupy your time until you got bored and threw me away."

He scoffed at that and released her wrist, making his way to the stairs and starting down. She watched as his raven colored hair slowly descended from her view. Sakura could hardly believe that she'd just said that, but he was making her so angry. It wasn't as if she'd gotten them in this position on purpose, and he was the one who asked her to the dance and then he suddenly didn't care that he would have to go with someone else? If it had been her she would have been greatly upset by it all, and that's how she knew that she cared more than he did. If he could just shrug it off then nothing could have happened between them in the long run anyways. Right now anger boiled in her system, but she knew once it was gone reality would set in and she would regret her actions, even though a part of her knew it was for the best.

* * *

Sakura was sprawled out in the grass of the courtyard of Konoha Academy. It was sunny outside, but bitterly cold. Therefore she was the only one outside, giving her the privacy she so desperately craved. She looked up at the clouds in the sky as if they held the answers to all of her problems. Just as she had predicted, once she calmed down she regretted her words to Sasuke the day before, but couldn't think of a way to make it right. They had reverted back to avoiding each other. On her part it was to avoid another argument, not because she didn't want to be around him. If anything it was the exact opposite. She desperately wanted to run to him and apologize and say she didn't mean any of it, but she did, and that's why she couldn't do it.

Letting out a long sigh, she watched the breath turn white in the frosty air. Most people would be bothered by the cold, but it cooled down her firey personaility. It offset her nicely, especially in this moment. She loved the stillness that Winter brought. It was as if everything stopped for a small moment in time. She wished her life could do the same. Then she'd have plenty of time to decide what to do about Sasuke.

"Are you okay?" She heard a light voice ask. "It's pretty cold out here. You don't want to get sick."

Turning her head to the side, which allowed the grass to tickle her face, she peered up the blond girl that stood over her. She wore the same uniform as Sakura, her long, smooth tresses falling over her shoulder in a sleek ponytail, covering the school emblem on the front of her jacket, and ending past her hips. Her clear blue eyes reminded Sakura of Naruto's but they were a few shades lighter, and they didn't have the same shimmer that the boys held. She was beautiful, there was no doubt about that. While Sakura was small and petite, this girl was long in every sense of the word. On top of her long hair she had long legs too. Sakura could tell she was several inches taller than her just by looking from her position on the ground.

"I'm fine." Sakura told the girl blandly. "I'm just thinking."

"Maybe I can help." The girls suggested, crouching down to sit next to Sakura. "I'm a good listener."

Under normal circumstances Sakura would have been grateful for the invitation. She always wanted to make more friends, but today was an exception. She was in no mood to talk, or to have company. She gave the girl a slight once over before returning her gaze to the sky. Maybe if she just ignored her she'd go away.

"Is it a boy?" The girl pestered. "I'm really good with advice on boys."

Sakura let out a sigh of impatience, apparently channeling her inner Sasuke today.

"Who are you?" She asked, not bothering to sound polite.

"I'm Ino Yamanaka. You?"

She vaugely remembered Naruto mentioning that name to her. Apparently the two blonds were friends. She wished she were in a better mood. Then maybe she'd actually give this girl a chance. She seemed pretty nice so far. Seeing the expectant look on Ino's face she decided to return the introduction, but leave it at that.

"Sakura."

"You're that girl who lives with Sasuke!" Ino exclaimed. "Everyone talks about you. I always wondered what you look like."

The girl continued to chatter, obviously not too put off by Sakura's silence or aggrivated glances. It got to the point that she'd been talking for fifteen minutes straight, and Sakura wasn't even sure she'd heard the girl take a breath yet. It was beginning to grate on her nerves.

"Not to be rude," Sakura interrupted, sitting up. "but in case it wasn't obvious I want to be alone. That's why I'm spending my lunch out here staring at the sky while everyone else is inside where it's warm."

"I like the cold." Ino said cheerfully. "I find it invigorating."

"That's great, but do you have to enjoy it next to me?"

Ino blinked at her words, finally feeling the annoyed vibes radiating off the pinkette next to her. Sakura was glad her message had finally made its way through. She flopped back to the ground with a huff, fully expecting Ino to stand and walk away, but instead the girl just sat next to her. This time she didn't make a peep, so Sakura decided to just leave her be. As long as she remained quiet she could deal with her presence. When lunch finally ended, Ino stood and held a hand out to Sakura to help her up. She accepted the offer and rose to her feet, lightly patting any dirt off the back of her skirt, and shaking out her hair.

"Thanks."

"You're welcome, but the next time someone tries to help you it may be better if you dropped the attitude." Ino stated bluntly.

"Woah." Sakura said. "You're the one who came into my personal space, and wouldn't stop talking. If I was being rude then you should have just left."

"I get it." Ino replied in understanding. "You're having a bad day, and I happened to be there so it got taken out on me, but that doesn't mean I'm the problem."

Sakura just looked at her with narrowed eyes. She didn't like how calm this girl was. If someone had treated Sakura that way she certainly wouldn't have remained so friendly, but her words rang true. Normally she wasn't such a bitch, but she just happened to be in a bad mood and Ino was in her line of fire just because she tried to help. That wasn't her fault. She was only trying to be a good person.

"Sorry. I'm just not in the mood to talk about it, and I don't really know you, but I should have handled that better."

"You can get to know me." Ino suggested. "I really am a good listener."

"...Okay." Sakura agreed hesitantly.

"Great! Meet me here tomorrow. Same time. Bye!" She waved and ran back inside the building.

"Bye?" Sakura said, completely dumbfounded and not entirely sure what had just transpired between the two girls.

She shook her head in confusion, but followed the girl back inside the school. The day seemed to drag by and in every class she had with Sasuke you could cut the tension with a butter knife. Everyone seemed to sense that they were in the middle of one of thier disagreements, and gave them a wide berth as to not get caught in the middle. When the final bell of the day rang she made her way outside with Naruto, Sasuke not far behind. They all got in the car and went back to the manor. The blond invited her to spend some time with them but she declined.

"I still have a lot of packing to do." She minded him, and watched as both boys stiffened at her words.

"Yeah." Naruto said sadly. "I guess I forgot."

It wasn't until she'd made it up the stairs, changed into something more comfortable, and started filling the numerous boxes that the tears started to fall. She only had a few days left before the move and she and Sasuke were fighting once again. It weighed heavily on her heart, and in that moment she knew it would be her instead of Ino that would do all the talking at their meeting tomorrow.

* * *

"So I was right?" Ino questioned. "It is about a guy."

"Yeah. It's just really frustrating because it finally seemed like we were in a good place, and now we're fighting again. It's all my fault but I don't know how to fix it." Sakura opened up.

They were sitting at a picnic table outside, wrapped up in warm Winter coats to ward off the chill. The light breeze sent both of the girls long tendrils flying through the air, but neither paid much attention to it. Instead focusing entirely on the conversation at hand.

"Well," Ino began. "What was the fight about?"

"He asked me to lie to a friend about something, and I just couldn't do it."

"So you told your friend the truth?"

"No. I didn't want them to fight, so I just told him that I wouldn't say anything, but I couldn't continue keeping anymore secrets."

Sakura was trying to be as vague as possible, while giving Ino enough information to help sort out the situation. It wasn't an easy task, but as long as Ino never figured out that she was refeering to Sasuke she thought everything would be fine.

"That makes sense. It's never easy to lie to a friend, even if it is to help out another. I think you made the right decision, and he's probably just upset because he realizes the same thing. I'm sure he didn't want to put you in a tough position, but wasn't sure how to handle the situation. It was either be honest so you didn't feel guilty, and potentially lose the trust of this person, or continue to lie and lose you. Either way it wouldn't have ended well for him. Whoever he is."

"I guess, but I don't really think that's the only reason why he's upset." Sakura admitted.

"Why's that?" Ino asked, confused.

"I said something I shouldn't have. He was being offhanded about the whole situation and it made me mad so I lashed out."

"That's never good," Ino conceeded. "but you all are friends. I'm sure you'll make up at some point."

"Maybe." She said glumly, not holding out much hope. "Lets talk about something else though. I'm suppose to be getting to know you, and all I'm doing is mopping and whining."

"You're not whining, but it's understandable. No one wants to lose a friend. I get it if you want to change the subject though."

"Good." Sakura nodded in agreement. "So tell me about you."

"What do you want to know?" Ino asked, excitement lighting her eyes.

"Everything."

For the remainder of lunch Ino told her about how she worked in a flower shop ran by her mother after school, and ultimatley she wanted to become either a party planner or a wedding planner. Maybe both if everything worked out the way she wanted. Her father worked in telecommunications with the fathers of two boys who also went to school here, so they saw a lot of each other. Their names were Choji and Shikamaru. She'd never met them, but felt as if she'd heard of them before. She continued to listen as Ino went on to describe what she did for fun, which was usually shop or go out with friends, and her plans once she graduated from the academy. Apparently, she wanted to take a year off and travel. Seeing the world and experiencing new cultures was just another goal the blond had set for herself. The more Sakura listened the more she came to like Ino. She had a gypsy soul, light and free, wanting to see the world and try new things. It was the exact opposite of Sakura, who'd always been looking for a place to call home, but that's why she liked her so much. She enjoyed their differences. Ino seemed to understand this without any words, and smiled at Sakura encouragingly. She knew they were going to be good friends from that day on.

They continued to meet for lunch the next few days. It was Thursday went Ino came running outside with a beeming smile on her face. Sakura immediately smiled in response to her enthusiasm, and watched as she ran up to her and threw her arms around her in a sudden hug. Ino stood back and started jumping in excitement. All Sakura could do was watch with humor at the blond girls display.

"You are never going to believe what just happened!" Ino exclaimed. "I swear I almost fainted on the spot! My heart is still pounding."

"What?" Sakura asked through her laughter. "Just tell me."

"Sasuke just asked me to Homecoming!" Ino shouted, and proceeded to jump around and twirl in circles.

Sakura tried not to let the shock show on her face, but did a poor job because Ino took one look at her and continued.

"That was exactly how I looked when he first asked me. I couldn't believe it, but when I asked if he was serious he said yes! I'm going to Homecoming with Sasuke Uchiha!"

"Wow." She said, trying to swallow the lump in her throat. "That's...um, great. I'm sure you two will have a good time."

"How could we not?" Ino questioned. "He's the hottest guy in school, and it's Homecoming. It's going to be absolutely amazing!"

"Yeah." Sakura replied numbly. "You're right."

She knew it was her fault that Sasuke had to ask someone else to the dance, but at the time she never thought it would be anyone she actually knew, let alone a friend. She didn't have that many at the school, so she figured the probablity was rather low. Unless Sasuke asked someone just to spite her, but she knew that wasn't the case. He didn't even know that she and Ino had met. She would have told him if it hadn't been for the silent treatment he'd been giving her. Ino hugged her one more time and then ran back inside, presumably to spread her good news. Sakura opened the glass door behind her and walked to her locker, not paying any attention to what was going on around her. She put the combination in by muscle memory alone, and then slowly opened the door, letting her head slump forward in disappointment.

"Hey."

She turned to see Sasuke standing next to her, looking the slightest bit uncomforable. It was an unsual sight, but she gave him her attention. She already had a pretty good idea of what he was going to say.

"I just wanted you to hear it from me before it got around school, but I asked someone else to Homecoming." He explained. "You probably don't know her. Her name is Ino Yaman-"

"I know." Sakura interrupted. "She just told me."

"She did?"

"Yes. We're friends." She told him in a monotone.

She saw him frown at her words, but showed no other reaction.

"I didn't know."

"I figured." She assured him. "Have fun."

She shut her locker door and replaced the lock, twirling it a few times, and then turned away from him. She headed to the bathroom around the corner, hoping that splashing some cool water on her face would help. At Ino's news she'd felt herself shut off emotionally. She didn't want to break down and cry anymore. She'd had enough of that for one lifetime, but she couldn't be angry because the entire thing was her fault, so instead of feeling anything at all she just turned it off as best she could. It wasn't easy, but she didn't want to deal with this at school. She could be upset once she got home. Setting her books on the counter she turned the faucet as cold as it would go, and splashed a handful of water on her face a few times, before drying off with a paper towel. She looked at herself in the mirror for a few seconds. She looked pale, paler than normal, and her eyes looked dull. She shrugged it off for now and made her way back outside. When she turned the corner to head to class she saw that Sasuke was still in the hallway, except now he had his back to her. In front of him stood Ino, talking and giggling flirtatiously. She saw Sakura over his shoulder and gave her a slight wink. What Sakura saw next made her world spin on its axis.

She watched as Ino's blond head leaned forward and pressed her lips to Sasuke's. She spun them so her back was against the lockers, and wrapped her arms around his neck to deepen the kiss. Sakura heard a faint thud, catching Sasuke's attention and causing him to turn at the sound. Their eyes met and what she saw there scared her. It was nothing. She saw nothing, no remore or regret. He didn't look apologetic or guilty that she'd just caught him kissing someone else. Tearing her gaze from his she looked down to see she'd dropped her books without realizing. The noise they'd made as they clattered to the floor was what had caught his attention. She bent to pick them up, and suddenly another pair of hands was there helping her.

She lifted her head once more to see Ino handing her some papers and a stack of books. She took them and organized everything into a semi-neat pile before standing.

"Thanks."

"No hard feelings right?" Ino asked.

"What do you mean?"

"You like him too don't you?" The blond explained. "That's why you were so surprised when I told you he asked me to the dance, and why you dropped your books a second ago."

"I-" Sakura started, but was interrupted.

"It's all over your face." Ino stated. "It's nothing personal, but I just couldn't pass up the opportunity."

With those words and a smug smile the blond turned and walked away, leaving Sakura to stand there and watch as she slipped her arm around Sasuke's and led them out of the hallway. Neither looked back. Sakura began to wonder if she and Ino were ever really friends to begin with. Somewhere in the back of her mind she registered that the bell had rang, signaling that she was late for her next class, but didn't move from her position.

'Fuck. I hate my life.'

* * *

Once Sakura made it home the first thing she did was change and head out to the gym. She felt like hitting something, and wasn't in the mood to deal with someone that could hit back. She needed to get all this pent up aggression out. As the school day had gone on Sakura's emotions had resurfaced, and the dominant one was anger. She'd never been so angry in all her life, not even when Karin had made rude comments about her parents. It had been stewing inside her all day, just dying to get out. As soon as she stepped into the gym she made her way over to the punching bag in the back corner that hung from the ceiling. She didn't bother to put gloves on or wrap her hands like normal, at the moment she liked the sting on her knuckles from forcefully hitting the rough fabric. She continued like that for what felt like hours, tossing the occasional kick in every now and then. She didn't stop even as sweat began to roll down her body in large droplets. Her hair was plastered to her face and the back of her neck. Small strands curled around her face from the abundace of moisture, but still she went on. Even when she felt her knuckles split open from the constant force of her punches and trickles of blood make its way down her fists and seep inside the confines of her fingers she kept going. It was only when her hands went numb that she stopped.

Deciding that she liked the pain she felt in her hands before, but not longer being able to have it, she went for a run around the large property. Eventually, the pain moved to her lungs and calves. Both burned with every step she took. She breathed in the crisp air, only making the pain in her lungs that much more present to her. She felt satisfied at the fire building in her chest, and only wanting it to grow, she picked up her pace. It wasn't until she saw dark spots at the edge of her vision that she understood she'd pushed herself too far. She slowed down, trying to catch her breath, but it wasn't enough. She fell to her knees and eventually landed face first into to the cold grass beneath her. She glanced around to see that the manor was still several yards away from her. Right before she lost conciousness she knew it was unlikely that anyone would fine her anytime soon. A small, sarcastic smile formed on her lips.

'As if this day couldn't get any worse.'

Then all she saw was black.

* * *

"Look! I think she's waking up."

Sakura faintly registerd voices whispering around her. It felt like an elephant was sitting on her chest, and she was hot. So unbelievably hot. She tried to kick off the fabric around her, but it wouldn't budge. Blinking her eyes open she glanced around the room. Her sight was hazy for a minute, making it hard to tell who exactly the fuzzy blobs around her were. Once she rubbed her eyes and blinked a few more times, she looked around to find her aunt, Mikoto, Fugaku, and Itachi standing over her. Her aunt sat next to her in a small chair, holding her blankets in place, while Itachi did the same on the other side of her. Taking note of her surroundings she realized she wasn't at the manor. The speckled ceiling tiles, florescent lights, and hospital gown she'd been dressed in told her she was at Konhoa General.

"What the hell happened?" She asked, her voice coming out slightly hoarse. Her aunt filled a cup with water and passed it to her. She sipped on it lightly, looking at the worried expressions of those around her.

"You fainted and almost caught pneumonia. That's what happened." Her aunt said angrily. "If Itachi hadn't gone searching for you it could have been much worse."

"Oh."

"Yeah, oh." Tsundade went on. "What the hell were you-"

She suddenly stopped talking at some commotion going on outside of her door.

"Where is she?" She heard Sasuke's voice ask, hostility in his tone.

"Only family members are allowed in there sir." She heard someone answer calmly.

Mikoto made her way over to the automatic door and stuck her head out. A curtain had been pulled so she couldn't see what was going on past the foot of her bed, and was unable to see either Sasuke or his mother at the moment.

"We're in here honey." She heard Mikoto say calmly.

Two sets of footsteps could be heard entering the room, one set light, barely audible, the other heavy in its rush. She saw Sasuke step around the curtain and the second his eyes landed on her he let out a sigh of relief.

"Thank God." He muttered.

He walked over and sat on the edge of her bed, right next to Itachi, and leaned forward to place a soft kiss on her forehead. She saw everyone's eyes widen in surprise, including hers, but Sasuke didn't pay any attention to that. Instead he seemed to be searching her for injuries. His eyes found their way to her hands, which were now bandaged to stop the bleeding from her knuckles. She saw him clench his teeth upon seeing them, and returned his gaze to hers.

"What happened?"

"It's nothing." She assured him. "I was just working out and pushed myself too hard. I'm fine."

"You are most definitely not fine." Her aunt said from her seat. "You had better not ever pull a stunt like that again. Understand?"

"Yes." She agreed, keeping her eyes on Sasuke, who took one of her hands gingerly in his own.

"Sasuke," She heard Itachi say. "can I speak to you in the hallway?"

"In a minute." He responded, never looking away from the pink haired girl in the bed. "I need to talk to Sakura first."

"I don't-"

"Please Itachi?" She begged.

He looked between the two teenagers with a frown on his face. It was clear he was upset with Sasuke. Not liking the way he touched Sakura in such a posessive manner, but she was looking at him with such hopeful, pleading eyes that he caved within moments.

"Fine." He agreed reluctantly.

"Alone." Sasuke specified. Everyone's eyes widened once more, but followed his directons, slowly making their way out of the room. The second they heard the door shut she was wrapped in his arms, surrounded by his scent.

"My mother called and told me you were in the hospital." He whispered in her ear. "I was worried."

"Sorry." She apologized.

He just shook his head and pressed his lips to hers. It was different than all of their other kisses. It wasn't frantic, or sexually charged. It was sweet, and gentle. It was everything she'd ever wanted from him. She kissed him back, but he pulled away after a few seconds.

"We're in a hospital. Don't get too carried away."

"You're the one who kissed me." She reminded him.

"I know." He responded with a smirk. "I plan to do a lot more of that once you're better."

"What about Itachi?" She asked, biting her lip nervously.

"I'll handle it." He assured her.

"Sasuke, I-"

"No more lies. I'll be honest with him."

"Really?" She questioned, surprise and hope evident in her tone.

"Hn."

She smiled at his typical response. It had been awhile since she'd heard it.

"I never thought I'd miss that." Sakura confessed.

"Hn."

"I didn't miss it that much." She joked, and watched him smile.

He gave her one last kiss and then went to stand, she stopped him with the hand he still held in his own.

"I've got to talk to Itachi." He explained, giving her hand a light, reassuring squeeze. "Then I need to make a phone call."

She looked at him in confusion, hoping he would elaborate.

"I should tell Ino I can't take her to Homecoming after all." He told her.

Sakura felt a smile form on her lips at his words. Her day just got a whole lot better.

* * *

 **So how was it? I know I said that Sakura and Sasuke wouldn't have anymore problems in their relationship from this point, but I feel like I kind of wrote myself into a corner. I rewrote this chapter so many times, which is why it took so long to post. Every time I went back and read it all I hated it, and this was the only thing I came up with that I actually liked. Don't be too mad. I hope you all enjoyed it. Now that my vacation is over I promise to update more regularly. Also, you will be seeing more of Ino after this, and please, please, please review!**


	11. In with the New

**So for those of you who were disappointed with how easily Sakura forgave Sasuke, never fear! I've dealt with that in this chapter.**

 **Also, there will be sexual content, if you don't like that then please don't read this chapter.**

 **Thank you all so much for the continuation of your wonderful reviews! They make all the long writing hours completely worth it.**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

Sakura placed the box she was carrying down on the floor and looked at what would be her room from that point forward. She couldn't help but admire the large windows on the far wall and the white tray ceiling. The hardwood flooring gleamed so brightly she could almost look down and see her reflection. It was hard to deny the beauty of the place her aunt had found for them. The entirety of their new home spoke of money, and opulence. Although it would never equal the house she'd just come from.

The two story co-op was located in a large building that was just a fifteen minute drive from the manor, and all the Uchiha's had made sure to let her know that she was always welcome if she ever wanted to stop by. She stood there for a moment, enjoying the view, and coming to terms with the fact that this was home for her now. She was unsure of how long she'd been lost in her thoughts when something caught her attention, a smell to be exact. One that she had come to know very well. If it weren't for that she never would have noticed he was there. He moved so quietly it was almost eerie.

She let out a soft sigh as she felt his strong arms wrap around her waist from behind. She leaned back against him, only to be further enveloped in his embrace. His warm lips kissed the side of her neck, which caused her head to fall back on his shoulder, allowing him more access to continue. Sakura spent a few short moments reveling in the sensations his mouth made on her skin, but eventually pulled away. There was work to be done, and they couldn't be the only ones to not contribute. The entire Uchiha family was helping her move in today, and even Naruto showed up unexpectedly. The only person who wasn't present was her aunt. She couldn't make it away from the hospital to be here, so she had hired movers to do all the heavy lifting, while everyone else moved the little stuff and helped Sakura unpack and set up. They'd been at if for about an hour now, and still had plenty left to go.

When they'd left Seattle Sakura figured that all of their furniture was sent to their new home, but once she figured out they were staying with the Uchiha's she discovered that her aunt had put it all in storage. Now she was surrounded by familiar furniture and Knick knacks. She had plenty of ideas floating through her head on where everything would go. Since her aunt couldn't make it she'd been given free reign to decorate however she pleased. The opportunity got her creative juices flowing, but they were nowhere near ready for that step yet.

"Thanks for helping today." She spoke to Sasuke as she turned to face him. "I'd probably never get this done if you and your family hadn't come to help."

"And the dobe." He reminded her.

"I heard that!" Naruto's voice shouted from down the hallway, causing them both to grin.

"How could I have forgotten about him?" Sakura laughed.

"Seriously?" Naruto asked, poking his head in the doorway, a stack of boxes in his arms. "I woke up early and everything to come help you Sakura. You could at least be a little more grateful."

The blond turned his nose up in the air, pouting, and began to walk towards a different room where the boxes were meant to go. Sakura chased after him, jumping on his back the second his hands were empty.

"I could never really forget you Naruto," She assured her friend. "and I'm really happy you came to help."

"Sure you are." He muttered, still moping.

"I am. Promise." She said, clinging to his back. "You're my best friend. I'll always be happy when you're around."

"Really?" He asked, voice hopeful.

"Yup."

"Awesome!" He exclaimed, pumping a fist in the air.

"You're such a dobe." They heard from the doorway.

Naruto spun around quickly, causing Sakura to hold on for dear life so she wasn't abruptly thrown to the floor. Once she was steady she decided it'd probably be for the best if she let go of Naruto now. He could be rather unpredictable, and she didn't want to suffer the consequences of that. Once her feet hit the ground she looked up and saw Sasuke standing there. He'd probably followed behind her to see what she had planned for the blond.

"You're just jealous cause she said I'm her best friend." Naruto teased.

"Why would I be jealous of that?" Sasuke scoffed.

Naruto's triumphant grin fell at that. After Sakura's hospitalization Sasuke had apparently come to terms with the depths of his feelings for her. He'd told his family, mainly Itachi, how he felt and wanted them all to understand that he had no intentions of hiding anything from them whether they approved or not. His parents had been pleased with the sudden reveal, glad that he'd finally shown interest in someone, and even more thrilled that it was Sakura, who'd they'd always thought of as a daughter. Itachi on the other hand didn't share in his parents enthusiasm. He'd always been protective over Sakura, feeling responsible for her well being when it was his job to look after her at the hospital, and had only taken it more seriously after her parents death. He didn't want her to suffer anymore, and his greatest fear with Sasuke was that one day he may stop caring about her, causing Sakura to lose another important person in her life.

She wasn't sure what exactly Sasuke had told Itachi, but he had reluctantly accepted things. Sakura figured it was probably something along the same lines as what he'd told her when he came back to her hospital room right afterwards...

 _Sakura lay slumped against the thin plastic pillows provided by the hospital. Although they were easy to clean, which she appreciated as a volunteer, they didn't serve as much of a cushion for her back, which sucked as a patient. She could feel the small wooden headboard digging into the middle of her spine, causing her to arch unconsciously, and most likely creating a pain she'd have to deal with later._

 _Her ears perked up when she heard the automatic door slide open, signaling someone's entry into the room. Sasuke stepped around the curtain, a tired and exasperated expression on his face. He lightly ran a hand through his thick, dark locks and sat at the foot of her bed, flopping backwards and narrowly missing her feet in the process._

 _"What's wrong?" She asked concerned._

 _"Itachi's just a real pain in the ass sometimes." He explained, an arm slung over his eyes to block out what little light there was in the room._

 _"He interrogated you pretty hard, huh?" She guessed._

 _"Hn."_

 _'Well, since he's already in a bad mood I see no reason to put this off.' She thought deviously._

 _"Come here." Sakura urged, gesturing for him to sit up and scoot closer._

 _He did as she wanted, sitting up straight and moving over until they were only about an arms length apart. She grinned up at him impishly, and then smacked him across the face without warning. She hit him so hard his head snapped to the side, and there was a red palm print already forming on his face._

 _"What the hell Sakura?" He exclaimed, glaring at her and cupping his cheek._

 _"That's for kissing Ino," She explained calmly. "and if you_ ever _do anything like that again I swear I'll beat you so hard your own family won't recognize you."_

 _"Jealous?" He mocked, only causing himself to get slapped on the other side of his face in retaliation._

 _"Don't push me Sasuke." Sakura warned. "I'm letting it go for the most part because I feel responsible for putting you in a position where you had to ask her out, but that doesn't give you a free pass to do whatever you want."_

 _"It wasn't like that." He argued, a scowl forming on his face._

 _"Then please enlighten me. What exactly was it like?"_

 _"_ She _kissed_ me. _"_

 _"That's the oldest excuse in the book. Try again."_

 _"It's true, but what you don't understand is that when it happened, I felt nothing. It was like she wasn't even there, and that's when I realized something..."_

 _"Go on." She encouraged, beyond intrigued._

 _"It didn't matter what she said, or what she did. It would never make a difference because she isn't_ you _, and you're all I want." He admitted._

 _"It'll do for now." She shrugged, causing him to roll his eyes._

 _"So," Sakura began. "when are you finally going to ask me out?"_

 _"I already asked you to Homecoming." He said, slightly confused._

 _"That's not what I meant." She giggled, and had the dubious pleasure of watching him blush for the first time when he finally understood her question._

After that everything between them had been smooth sailing. He never did ask her to be his girlfriend in so many words, but she understood without him having to say it that it's what he wanted. She did too, and so now they were officially together without having to hide from anyone. His whole family knew, and so did Naruto, although he seemed to have temporarily forgotten that at the moment. She figured word would spread through school like wildfire when they returned on Monday. Most of the rumors would likely being to spread when they showed up at the dance together tomorrow night, but Sakura was sure his fangirls would adamantly deny it, saying it was a pity date or something.

"I still can't get use to the fact that you guys are dating now." Naruto admitted, scratching his head in thought. "That's going to take some adjusting."

"I know." Sakura agreed. "I still can't believe it myself."

She thought back to her first days in the Uchiha manor, meeting Sasuke, despising him, and somehow falling for his arrogant, closed off personality. She wasn't exactly sure how it had happened to this day. When they first met she never would have dreamed that things would end up like this. He made her want to pull her hair out by the roots, but after she'd spent more time with him, and gotten to know him, she understood why every girl at school was crazy about him. It wasn't his money or his looks, although she certainly wasn't complaining about either, for her it was his uncanny ability to make her live in the moment. He was the first person who'd ever been able to make her forget about the past, even if just for a minute. At first it was her anger towards him that distracted her. Now it was so much more, and she couldn't picture her life without him. He made her feel _alive_. When her parents died it was like they'd taken a piece of her with them, but since she'd met him it was like the hole in her heart had been filled, and she could never convey how grateful she was to him for that.

'It might be fun to try though.' She thought dreamily, staring at the beautiful boy in the doorway that she was finally able to call her boyfriend.

* * *

"No peeking!" Sakura exclaimed, yanking the garment bag out of Sasuke's hand.

"I'm going to see it eventually." He reasoned.

"I don't care. You can wait till later tonight when we actually go to the dance." She argued.

She'd never tell him, but she had spent an enormous amount of time trying to pick out the perfect dress. She, Hinata, and Tenten had all gone shopping together, and while the other two girls had found their dresses within the first three stores they'd gone to, Sakura felt as if she'd searched the entire town and came up empty handed. It wasn't until her aunt had dug around in storage and pulled out an old dress of her mothers that she'd found the perfect one for her.

It was a vintage dress, made up of layers of satin, chiffon, and lace. Sakura had to get a little creative, knowing that the floor length, long sleeve gown wouldn't work for her purpose in its original style. So she'd cut it until the dress fell just below her knees, and gotten rid of the sleeves. She'd also made it to where the gown was now backless, and held up by light gold satin ribbon that crossed in the back and came around the front, right under her bust, to wrap around once more and tie into a bow at her side. The ribbon showcased the plunging neckline of the dress, and made a nice accent color against the white fabrics. The triangles of satin and lace covered her breasts enough to be modest, but were revealing enough to be tantalizing. While the top part of her dress was rather form fitting, the chiffon and satin skirt that formed right below the ribbon she'd added fell quite loosely around her. All in all the dress was delicate and comfortable. She was quite pleased with the finished product and couldn't wait to see Sasuke's reaction once he saw her in it.

She handled the bag that contained her dress with care, and walked it up the stairs to her old room inside the Uchiha manor. They had decided that it would be best to both get ready at the same place so he didn't have to worry about picking her up. Plus her new home was still in disarray from the move. The furniture was where it needed to be, but there were empty boxes and trash scattered everywhere at the moment. Everything was close to being done, but right now it was just too cluttered to get ready for Homecoming.

When Sakura reached her old room she hung her dress on the back of her door, and placed her shoebox on top of the bed. The dance started at eight o'clock and right now it was six. It gave her just enough time to do her hair and make-up, and slip the gown on before they had to leave. She walked into the large bathroom and set to work on her hair, knowing it would take the most time because of it's length and thickness.

She'd decided to wear it up tonight in order to better show off her dress, and once every strand was curled to her satisfaction she took two pieces near her face and twisted them back lightly. She pinned the strands in place and began to twirl her hair into a low, slightly messy bun. The end result was exactly as she'd hoped. Loose curls framed her face on either side, and pulling her hair back made her appear a little more mature. Tonight she was going for balance. She wanted to appear beautiful, innocent, and demure, while at the same time being sexy, worldly, and bold.

She kept her make-up to a minimum, placing a light layer of shimmering gold eye shadow on her lids, and a coat of foundation that made her skin have a dewy glow. She put a few layers of mascara on her lashes, and then some light pink gloss on her lips, and stepped back to admire her work. The enitre look was exactly what she'd been going for, and she was grateful that everything had decided to work out to her specifications for her first date with Sasuke. She glanced at the clock as she stepped out of the bathroom, and saw that it read seven thirty. She went and got her dress from where it hung on the door and slipped it out of the bag and put it on. Once she'd tied the bow she grabbed her strappy white heels from the box and put them on and buckled them. After putting in some pearl earrings and spraying a bit of her favorite perfume on her wrists she decided she was ready.

Sakura began to make her way down the stairs to meet Sasuke. She'd made it to the last flight, when the power suddenly went out and immersed her in darkness. Glancing around she realized that she couldn't even see her hand in front of her face. Holding on to the railing she carefully went down the last few steps, and knew she'd made it all the way when she heard the click of her heels on the wooden floor.

"Sasuke?" She called out, hoping he happened to be nearby.

"I'm here." His voice said from somewhere to her right.

"What's going on?"

"It's a black out. There's a storm going on outside." He explained, following her voice to come closer just as lightening clashed outside.

"It must be pretty bad." She mused, and tried not to jump when she felt his hand grab her elbow.

"Come with me." Sasuke ordered.

"Where are we going?"

"To the kitchen to get some candles."

Sakura carefully placed one foot in front of the other, allowing Sasuke to lead her in the right direction. Clearly he'd lived here so long he that he could walk the building with his eyes closed. He helped her make it through the doorway, and then placed her hands on the kitchen counter so she knew where she was. She heard him opening cabinets and digging around when there was a small scratching sound and suddenly a small flame lit up the room. Sasuke hurriedly used the match to light as many candles as he could. Once he finished he blew out the match and tossed it in the trash. He grabbed two small candles and turned to face her, stopping in his tracks when his eyes landed on her.

They stood there for a moment, admiring each other now that they could both see. Sakura lost her breath at the sight of Sasuke in a white button up shirt, loosely tucked into black slacks and paired with a black tie. He'd tugged it away from his throat by a few inches, and undid the top few buttons of his shirt, giving him a _very_ sexy rumpled appearance. She felt herself swallow involuntarily, noticing how dry her throat suddenly was, and let out the breath she'd been holding in a small huff. Sasuke had a similar reaction, staring at her with shock and forgetting to breathe. She saw his eyes darken, if that were even possible, and his tongue ran lightly along his lips. He slowly sat the candles back down on the counter and stepped towards her, placing his hands on her waist, and looking her over again from head to foot.

"Jesus Sakura." He breathed, tugging her closer until their hips were flush with one another.

"I guess that means you like the dress." She said quietly, looking into his eyes.

He just nodded in agreement and kept staring. After several minutes had gone by and he still didn't say a word she began to fidget nervously.

"Say something." She urged. "You're embarrassing me."

"You're beautiful." He stated in a way that made it seem more like a fact and less like an opinion.

"Thank you." She blushed.

"I love it when you blush." Sasuke admitted, placing his hand on her cheek and feeling the warmth there. "It matches your hair."

"I didn't know." Sakura mumbled, her blush only increasing at his words.

"Hn."

He continued to hold her like that, and began to swipe his thumb back and forth, when he suddenly moved his hand down to her chin and tugged lightly, causing her to let go of her bottom lip that she'd been unaware she was biting. She saw him lean forward, his intent clear, but she spoke when his lips were mere centimeters away from hers.

"We should probably get going." She reminded.

"We can't go in this weather." He muttered, his gaze never leaving her mouth. "Homecoming probably got canceled anyways."

"Really?" She asked in disappointment.

He nodded regrettably. "I know you were looking forward to it."

"Just a little."

His eyebrows rose in skeptical disbelief at that.

"I was looking forward to going with you more than the actually dance itself." She explained.

"I'm right here." He whispered, pressing his forehead against hers.

"I know." She said with a small smile.

Sasuke studied her face, and saw that despite her best efforts to prove otherwise, she was disappointed that they couldn't go to the dance. A frown crossed his lips upon seeing her dissatisfaction with the situation. He stood there momentarily, trying to think of way to cheer her up, when an idea struck.

"Wait here." He commanded, and walked off, taking a few candles with him.

Sakura opened her mouth to speak but he was already gone. She began to chew lightly on her thumb nail in concentration, a bad habit she'd picked up from Tsunade, and tried not to focus on the fact that the perfect night she'd pictured was ruined now. Eventually she jumped up onto the counter, and crossed one knee over the other, getting off of her feet for a moment while she waited on Sasuke. Deciding that there was no point in keeping them on since they weren't going anywhere, she kicked her shoes off, the pair landing neatly in the corner like she'd hoped.

She'd been sitting there for about twenty minutes, swinging her feet and staring at the ceiling, when she heard strange sounds echoing back to her from the living room. It sounded like someone was tearing the room apart, and she began to get curious as to what Sasuke was doing. She slid down from the counter and lightly padded over to the opening in the kitchen that led out into the large family room. However, before she could poke her head around the corner Sasuke's deep voice rang out.

"No peeking." He chastised, repeating her earlier words.

"How'd you even know I moved?" She questioned.

"You're not as quiet as you think."

"Whatever." She said, sulking quietly so only she could hear. "I can be plenty quiet when I want to."

"Not quiet enough." Sasuke's voice whispered in her ear, causing her to jump in the air and place a hand over her rapidly beating heart.

"You have got to stop doing that!"

He just smirked and took both of her hands in his.

"Close your eyes."

She was about to ask why, but he beat her to the punch.

"Just do it."

"Fine." She sighed.

Keeping her hands in his he led her out to the living room, and turned her slightly. She picked up the scent of lavender and vanilla floating through the air, and could see light dancing from behind her closed lids.

"Open." Sasuke said, behind her now.

Sakura's lashes fluttered as she opened her eyes and she gasped at what she saw before her. The noises she'd heard earlier were from Sasuke moving the furniture to one side of the room. With everything out of the way he was able to place an abundance of candles in a large semi-circle on the floor, which they now stood in the middle of. He'd lit the fireplace, allowing more light into the dark room, and had even placed candles along the mantle. Flower petals had been scattered across the floor, adding to the wonderful smell. She saw Sasuke move out of the corner of her eye, and looked to see him pressing buttons on a radio. Seconds later soft music floated through the air, creating a warm and romantic atmosphere.

"It's battery powered." He explained when he saw her confused gaze on the radio.

She kept quiet, feeling tears of pure happiness begin to pool in her eyes. She did her best to blink them back, not wanting to ruin her make-up or dampen the moment that Sasuke had gone to so much trouble to create for them.

"This is the nicest thing anyone's ever done for me." She told him honestly.

"It's a one time thing, so don't get any ideas." He said, looking away sheepishly.

Sakura couldn't help but smile. She knew that romance was something new for Sasuke, it was for her too, but he'd done this for her even though normally he'd never even entertain the idea. It was too mushy for his personality, but that showed her how much he cared. She'd never tell anyone, knowing it would embarrass him, and wanting to keep this special moment locked away just for herself.

"Thank you." She said gratefully, and walked to him, placing a soft kiss on his lips.

He kissed her back, and then wrapped his arms around her waist, and they began to sway to the music. It wasn't the night she'd picture, but it was so much better. She didn't need the entire school to see that they were together, or have expensive decorations. All she needed was the boy holding her in his arms. She placed her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes peacefully, just enjoying the fact that they were together.

* * *

It was a little after eleven when the power finally came back on and they decided to clean up. Placing all the candles back in their rightful spot and returning all the furniture to where it belonged, they managed to get it all back in order within a few minutes. Sakura picked up her shoes from their spot in the kitchen, and walked up stairs hand in hand with Sasuke. When they got to the second floor landing they turned to their left and walked down the long hallway, reaching his room at the very end. They stepped inside and Sasuke walked over to his dresser, opening the top drawer and pulling out a white tee shirt, and handed it to her.

"I'm going to take a shower." He explained. "You can wear that afterwards if you decided you want to take one too."

"I don't get pants to go with this?" She questioned.

"Nope." He responded with a smirk. "If I gave you any they'd just fall down since you're so tiny."

"I'm perfectly normal sized thank you very much." She informed, crossing her arms in playful irritation.

He kissed her cheek for a reply and then headed inside the bathroom. She watched as he shut the door behind him, leaving it cracked slightly, and turned on the fan to vent out some of the steam that would result from his shower. She heard him turn the water on and then the small clink signaling that he'd stepped inside and closed the large glass door behind him.

Sakura walked over to his bed, and crawled into the center, laying down and realizing that the entire room smelled just like him. She snuggled deeper into the smooth, black silk sheets, and stretched like a cat. She replayed their night so far over and over in her mind, deliriously happy. Sasuke had made her feel beautiful and cared for. The entire night had been so romantic, and she wanted to do something to thank him for how thoughtful he'd been. She spent a few minutes running ideas through her head, when an abnormal thought flitted through her mind.

'I shouldn't.' She thought with a shake of her head.

 **'But you want to.' Inner responded in encouragement. 'Go on. Live a little.'**

'I shouldn't.' She repeated.

 **'With the way you two are it's only a matter of time.' Inner reasoned, winning her over slightly.**

'It'll be embarrassing.'

 **'He won't think so.'**

'I can't believe I'm about to do this.' Sakura thought in defeat, only to hear her alter ego laugh in triumph.

Sakura got off the bed, and walked to the bathroom door. The water was still running, and she could see the room filled with a large cloud of steam through the small opening.

'It's now or never.' She thought determinedly.

Sakura took the pins out of her hair, shaking it out so it fell down her back in the loose curls she worked so hard on earlier. She tugged the bow of her dress loose, and felt the top begin to slid down, pooling at her waist. She shimmied the garment the rest of the way off, and did the same with her white lace panties. Pushing the door open and stepping inside she allowed some of the steam to escape, but she could only vaguely make out the shape of Sasuke's body within the shower. She padded over as lightly as she could manage, and was happy to discover that he hadn't heard her approach and turned around.

'See.' She thought gleefully. 'I told him I could be quiet when I want to.'

She grabbed hold of the handle attached to the large frosted glass door, and took a deep breath to steady her nerves. She swiftly opened the door and stepped into the shower in one fluid movement. This time the cool breeze that came with her entry caught Sasuke's attention and caused him to turn around under the spray of the shower. She saw his eyes go wide in disbelief when he saw her standing there, and his mouth dropped open slightly at her nudity.

"Mind if I join you?" She asked, trying her best to sound calm and brave even though it felt like her heart was about to pound out of her chest.

She felt his eyes on her like a branding iron. It was as if they lit her body on fire wherever they went. He scanned her thoroughly for the second time that night. He started at the top of her head and worked his way down. She felt herself blush scarlet, positive that this time her face was several shades darker than her hair, but he didn't seem to notice and kept going. His eyes seemed to touch on every inch of her pale skin, and she couldn't help it when her nipples hardened under his constant gaze. He noticed this reaction, and drew a sharp intake of breath, but proceeded, his eyes wandering down her flat, taunt stomach, to the apex of her thighs, where they stayed for a moment.

Sakura was glad that she'd long been in the habit of shaving down there at this moment, and even more relieved that Tenten had talked her into getting a Brazilian wax yesterday. She hadn't been planning for anything to happen between her and Sasuke tonight, but she also had a feeling things could get passionate between them, especially in the heat of the moment, and decided she'd rather be prepared than not.

After what felt like a lifetime, but could only have been a minute or two, his eyes moved down to her shapely, toned legs, to her dainty feet, and then repeated the process from the opposite direction. By the time his gaze had returned to her face she was panting heavily, because although she felt very exposed and beyond embarrassed, she was also immensely turned on by his appreciative looks. It was clear to her that he admired her body, and found her as attractive as she found him.

It also became apparent when he'd slowly gotten an erection the longer he looked her over. She'd taken the time that he'd used to study every aspect of her body to do the same, which helped to distract her, and she was as pleased as he was with what she saw. His upper body was just as she remembered, all toned arms and washboard abs, but she noticed new things. Like the small trail of dark hair that lead from his belly button to down _there._

Sakura felt the urge to fan herself at the sight of the appendage between his legs. His was the first that she'd ever seen, but she got the feeling that he fell towards the larger end of the scale in terms of size. She stared for longer than she cared to admit, but eventually shook herself out of her daze just in time to see him reach out for her, and yank her hard against him so they both now stood under the cascading water. She felt small streams form and run down her face, and once again was grateful that she'd had enough sense of mind to wear waterproof mascara tonight.

She felt his fingers lightly graze her arms as she stared deeply into his fiery onyx eyes, and then lift her hands and place them around his neck. Once he'd done that he put his own hands on the small of her spine, pressing her closer, and causing his erection to slide sensuously against her lower belly before her kissed her hungrily.

"Do you have any idea what you do to me?" He asked, obviously not expecting an answer as he returned his lips to her right afterwards, and began to rock his hips against hers.

Sakura felt a delicious warmth begin to pool between her legs, that had her dying for more, but more of what she wasn't exactly sure. She decided to let Sasuke take control of the situation and just follow his lead, and kissed him back, their lips molding together like matching puzzle pieces. She pushed up onto her tip toes to delve her tongue deeper inside his mouth, craving more of his taste, and heard him groan in satisfaction.

His hands began to wander along her body, causing her to get goosebumps and release a small shiver of excitement. Eventually, his large hands made their way down her thighs and around to grab ahold of her butt and lift her so she had to wrap her legs around his waist in order to keep from falling. He turned them, pinning her against the tiled wall of the shower, and ground himself into her more forcefully, causing her to moan into his mouth.

He worked his way over to her neck and began to suck and nibble lightly at the dip in her collarbone. She was sure his actions would leave a mark, but she couldn't find it in herself to care at the moment, and moved her hands into his hair and pressed him closer. He understood her silent plea to continue, but instead returned his lips to hers and reached behind them to turn off the water.

He pushed open the shower door, still carrying her in his arms, and made his way to the bed as fast as he could, dripping water everywhere in the process. Once he reached it he laid the both of them down and began to trail his lips along her body. Sakura took deep gulps of air, and kept her eyes closed against the onslaught of sensations she was experiencing. She felt one of Sasuke's hands trail up her stomach, till it reached the top of her ribs, and then palm her right breast just as his mouth made contact with the left.

He lightly sucked her nipple into his mouth as his thumb flicked across the other, causing her nipples to harden even further, and making her squirm beneath him. He pinched one peak between his thumb and forefinger as his tongue rolled over the one inside his mouth. She let out a soft whimper as the feelings he caused within her began to blur together. Sasuke temporarily released his grip on her full breast to grab her hand and bring it down to his hardened length.

"Touch me." He encouraged huskily, helping wrap her fingers around him and squeeze.

"I don't know how." She admitted, self-conscious of her hand touching such an intimate part of his body.

He kept his hand over hers and began to stroke up and down, back and forth, tightening her small fingers around him once more, letting her know it was okay to have a firmer grip. They continued like this for a few minutes, until he felt sure that she'd gotten the movement down and then returned his attention to its previous location, but moved his hand down between her legs. He slipped a finger between her folds, feeling the wetness there, encouraging him to continue when she didn't try to stop him.

He began to circle the small nub there, as Sakura continued to stroke him, and plunged one finger inside her just as he lightly bit down on the nipple still inside his mouth. She bucked her hips and arched off the bed, causing her to squeeze his erection without warning. They let out simultaneous groans of pleasure, and proceeded with labored breathing.

Sasuke continuously pumped his finger in and out of her, occasionally palming her womanhood, causing her to become even wetter than before. He felt her strokes pick up speed, and knew he wouldn't last much longer at this rate. His slipped another finger inside her, stretching her within. Sakura winced slightly at the intrusion, suddenly feeling very tight, but let out a loud moan a few seconds later when he continued to pump his fingers within her and curled them slightly, hitting a particularly pleasurable spot within her.

"Come for me Sakura." He whispered in her ear, his fingers moving furiously, inching her towards climax.

He circled his thumb around her clitoris twice more, keeping his fingers within her, and watched as she unraveled beneath him at his words, finally falling over the edge. The sight of her orgasm caused him to follow behind her mere seconds later, exploding onto the smooth surface of her stomach. He collapsed next to her on the bed a minute later, completely spent from their activities, but reached over to the nightstand and grabbed a few tissues to clean his essence off of her. Once he was done, he turned them both on their sides, spooning her, and pulled the sheets over them.

"I'm so glad your family isn't home." Sakura mumbled tiredly.

Sasuke just kissed the top of her head, tucking it beneath his chin before closing his eyes.

"Sleep." He encouraged, just before it claimed him.

Sakura let out a content sigh and did as she was instructed, loving the feel of his skin on hers and his arms wrapped around her possessively. She had a feeling this would be one of the best nights sleep she'd ever get.

* * *

 **Ah! So how was it? I worked really hard on the last bit. I hope it turned out okay. Let me know what you think! I'm sure that many of you feel that they are moving way too fast, but don't worry. I promise I have a plan in mind. I'm sure that a lot of people were disappointed with the fact that they didn't actually go to Homecoming, but the truth is that I never planned for them to go from the beginning. Don't hate me! I'd love lots of feedback on how I did with this particular chapter so please review! It was quite the challenge. Thanks for reading!**


	12. Let Me Explain

**I'll be honest, this chapter is pretty short, and that's because it's a filler chapter.**

 **I needed to address some minor issues, which is what this chapter accomplishes in my opinion, but don't worry, next chapter will have plenty more to offer.**

 **Please just stick with it, and I hope you like it despite the length.**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

Sakura awoke to an unbearable warmth. It wrapped around her like a cocoon, engulfing her in an unfamiliar heat. She groggily wiped the sleep from her eyes, and blinked a few times, adjusting to the lack of light in the room. She moved to get up and that's when she noticed two things:

1\. She was naked

2\. There was an arm around her waist that prevented her from moving.

The second realization caused the night before to come back to her in a rush, and she remembered that the arm belonged to Sasuke. She felt her face turn red, disbelieving that she'd been so bold last night and stepped in the shower with him. Of course she didn't think that it would lead to where it did, but Sasuke had a way of making her do things that she would otherwise never do. She didn't regret last night. The way that he'd made her feel was something she never wanted to forget, but they'd just started dating two days ago. It was nice, but it was too fast. She couldn't lose her head every time he looked at her, or she'd probably be giving her virginity away by the end of lunch.

Sakura slowly moved Sasuke's hand and laid it gently down on the bed, hoping that the small movement wouldn't wake him. When she heard the continuation of his soft, even breaths she knew she'd succeeded. She sat up on the side of the bed, still trying to jostle it as little as possible, and saw the shirt that Sasuke had given her the night before lying on the floor a few feet away. It was obviously tossed out of the way during their activities, not that she remembered doing much of anything else. She grabbed the shirt and put it on, standing to walk over to where she'd discared her dress, and pulled her panties on as well. His shirt was so large on her that it fell off of one shoulder and landed at the middle of her thighs.

"That shirt looks good on you." Sasuke spoke softly from behind her, causing Sakura to twirl around and see him sitting up in bed, the sheets pooled at his waist. "I have to admit that I prefer you naked though."

"How long have you been awake?" She asked, trying not to fidget out of nervousness.

"I woke up about an hour ago." He said honestly.

"Then why..." She began, slightly confused.

"I was enjoying the view." He smirked.

Sakura felt another blush work its way up to her cheeks, but tamped it down after a moment, steeling herself for what she had to say. She walked over to her spot on the bed, sitting down and facing Sasuke with determination.

"We should talk about last night." She hedged.

"Hn." He murmured, playing with a strand of her hair absentmindedly.

"It was amazing..." She admitted, gaining another smirk from him. "but I think we should slow down on the physical stuff."

"You're the one that came and got into the shower with me remember?" He laughed lightly.

"I know, but we haven't even been together for a week and it's just a little too fast for me."

"Only a little?"

"Okay, a lot, but my point is still the same. I don't want our relationship to be purely about sex."

"It's not," Sasuke assured her. "but I get what you're saying. We can go slow."

"Good." She breathed a sigh of relief.

"Honestly, I was surprised you did something like that to begin with."

"Me too."

"I enjoyed it though."

"Hn." She mimiced, using his signature response for once, and earning a surprised look from him that made her giggle.

"Let's go make breakfast." Sakura suggested, standing up and walking towards the door. "I'm starving."

"I bet." He joked, recieving a scowl from her. "Go ahead. I'll be down in a bit. I'm going to take a shower since my first one got interrupted."

"Please." She huffed. "It was the best interruption of your life."

"Hn." he agreed, before standing and giving her a glorious view of his naked body as he walked to the bathroom.

"I'm gonna go downstairs now." Sakura murmured half-heartedly, trying not to stare but failing miserably.

She turned and ran out the door as fast as she could, trying to put as much distance as possible between herself and her far too attractive boyfriend. It was no wonder she'd halfway lost her mind last night and jumped his bones. Any girl who saw him naked would have done the same thing. Sticking to her decision to slow down may be harder than she thought, but she wasn't going to let her morals lose this battle. It was too important. There would come a time when she was ready for that, but it wasn't now.

Padding lightly into the kitchen in her bare feet and Sasuke's tee shirt, she walked over to the fridge, glad that the cooks had weekends off or they'd be getting an eyeful right now. She pulled out some eggs, spinach, a variety of vegetables, and shredded cheese. Turning the stove top on and placing a pan on the burner Sakura started the task of making omelettes for breakfast. She had just added the spinach, onion, green pepper, and cheese when Sasuke walked in. He walked over and put his arms around her waist, resting his head on her shoulder, and watching as she cooked for the two of them.

"You really need to learn to put a shirt on." Sakura hinted, feeling the warmth of his skin through the shirt she was wearing.

"Why?" He teased, running his nose along the side of her throat. "Am I too much of a temptation for you?"

"Yes." She told him honestly.

"I think I'll stay like this then. I like seeing you squirm."

"You're such a guy sometimes." She responded, elbowing him lightly in the ribs.

"Sasuke!" A voice suddenly called out. "Where are you at?"

"Shit." He muttered in Sakura's ear, letting go of her and turning to face the doorway just as Naruto's blond head popped in.

"Hey guys. What's..." Naruto greeted and then trailed off once he saw their state of dress.

Sakura saw his face change from one of happiness, to shock, and then finally to disbelief.

"You guys slept together?" He questioned incredilous. "You haven't even been dating two days. Sasuke, what the hell were you thinking?"

"Naurto-" Sakura tried to explain, but he cut her off.

"Did he talk you into it Sakura? Be honest."

"Not that it's any of your business dobe," Sasuke said loudly, before Sakura could answer. "but we did sleep together last night, and that's all we did...was sleep."

Naruto turned his head to Saukra for confirmation, who nodded in agreement, seeing no reason to tell him about what else they had done. It was probably for the best if he didn't know.

"I'm sorry. It just seemed like you guys had...um...well, you know. You're wearing his shirt and he's half naked."

"Why would it matter if we had?" Sasuke demanded.

"I guess it wouldn't." Naurto conceeded. "I was just surprised is all."

"I'm gonna go find some pants to put on." Sakura mumbled, and then ran out of the room.

She headed down the hall and around the corner, heading towards Mikoto and Fugaku's room that happened to be on the first floor. She went to the closet, hoping to find something of Mikoto's that she could wear. They were similar enough in size that whatever she found should fit decently. Sakura rummaged around through a few things, finally discovering a pair of leggings, and pulling them on under the tee shirt. She also pulled on a tank top to wear underneath, in hopes it would be less obvious that she wasn't wearing a bra.

By the time she made it back to the kitchen Sasuke had finished up the omelettes and put them on plates, sitting them on one end of the island where the stools were. She walked over and sat next to him, noticing Naruto standing in the corner giving them both an odd look. Sakura ate her food in silence, hoping that by the time she was done the tension would have miraculously eased.

She peeked out of the corner of her eye and noticed that Sasuke had long since finished his food, and was having a silent staring contest with his best friend. She lifted her fork and brought the last bite of food to her mouth, chewing as slow as possible. Reluctantly, she swallowed and just as she sat her fork back down Sasuke spoke.

"Stop." He directed at Naruto.

"Stop what?" He asked, a guilty look on his face.

"You know what."

"I can't help it!" He exclaimed, raking both hands through his hair in frustration.

"I'm confused." Sakura admitted. "What exactly is going on?"

"Naruto's picturing you naked." Sasuke explained, glaring at the blond.

"It's not like that!" Naruto defended waving his hands in the air.

Despite his words Sakura was across the room in seconds bashing her fists over his head, yelling at him to not be such a pervert, and stop acting like Jiraya. Sasuke stayed rooted to his seat, greatly amused at the picture of his girlfriend beating up his best friend. Once Sakura seemed to have gotten the indignified anger out of her system things calmed down, and the three went about their usual routine when they were together.

* * *

Sakura tugged on her favorite black ankle boots, and grabbed her cream winter coat, running to the door where Sasuke had been patiently waiting on her...sort of. He had a rather exasperated look on his face at the moment. Normally, she was up and ready before he was, so he didn't understand what was taking her so long today. What he didn't understand is that the minute they walked in school every single set of eyes in the builing would be watching them, and judging her. There would be critiques, and assessing looks, and despite herself Sakura wanted to appear good enough to be with Sasuke. The entire time he'd been in school he'd never officially dated anyone. She was the first, and therefore felt like she had an impression to make. It was a silly notion, she knew, but it was a tidbit of her more girly side coming to the surface.

Today she'd curled her hair, and donned some light makeup, similar to what she'd planned for Homecoming just without the eyeshadow. If she could have worn something besides her uniform she would have, but sticking to the strict dresscode she'd just made sure it looked as impecable as she could make it. Fastening the buttons on her coat, and then pulling on a light gray beanie she grabbed Sasuke's hand and ushered them out the door.

"Sorry." She apologized once they were in the elevator.

"Hn." He grunted.

"Are you mad?" She asked hesistantly.

"Hn." He repeated.

"Seriously?" She questioned, slightly shocked.

"No." He assured her. "You need to relax. It's just school."

"I know, but-"

Sasuke kissed her into silence, hoping to distract her and ease her nervousness. It worked. Seconds after his lips touched hers she'd grabbed his coat and pulled him closer, obviously forgetting her earlier worries, and focused completely on the feelings he evoked within her. She would have continued like that the rest of the way down the elevator but Sasuke gently pushed her away, and chuckled at her disappointed expression.

"You wanted to take it slow." He reminded her.

"That's doesn't mean we can't have a really hot makeout session in the elevator. That's still allowed." She responded with a pout.

"There's official do's and don't's now?" Sasuke asked with raised brows.

"Yes." She said affirmatively.

"We'll have to go over those later. Right now we're running late."

"I almost forgot!" She exclaimed, eyes widening in horror.

"That was the point." Sasuke said under his breath.

"I heard that." Sakura reprimanded. "Right now I'm too nervous to be upset though."

"There's nothing to be nervous about. It doesn't matter what everyone at school thinks. All that matters is us, and we're good."

"I love it when you get all romantic." She grinned up at him.

"It wasn't that romantic." He said nonchalantly.

"It was for you." She pointed out.

"Let's just go." He replied, ignoring her comment for the most part.

By this point they'd made it to Sasuke's car, and they both hopped in, fastening their seatbelts, and then bolting to school. If Sakura didn't trust Sasuke as much as she did she proabably would have screamed for her life half of the way there he was speeding so fast, and manuvering in and out of other cars. It made her heart pound, but she knew they'd be okay. Sasuke was a fantastic driver, he just didn't pay attention to speed limits.

When they reached Konoha Academy they had five minutes to make it to their homeroom. They rushed up the steps, but Sakura skidded to a halt in front of the doors.

"I'm right here." He promised. "Just focus on me."

"Okay." She agreed. "That should be easy, right?"

"I don't know." He stated with a roll of his eyes. "I tend not to be self-absorbed, but I'll try it sometime. Just for you."

"You can be such an ass sometimes, I swear." She retorted, punching him in the arm.

"Hn."

Sasuke grabbed her hand and twined their fingers together, and pushed the doors open. Luckily for Sakura they were running so behind that very few people were still in the halls, but for those that were they couldn't stop staring at their conjoined hands, and then the whispers started. It grew to a steady hum, and Sakura knew in that moment that everyone would know they were together before homeroom was over. She did her best to ignore them, and kept her focus on Sasuke as he had suggested, as they speed walked through the hallways to get to homeroom. Sakura was suddenly very greatful that Mr. Hatake was perpetually late.

They walked through the doorway to the classroom together, gaining more looks as they went, and it wasn't until Sakura actually looked at their expressions that a reassuring thought came to her. Every single person who was staring was doing it out of either shock, or jealousy. The latter was directed at her from the female population of the school, unsurprisingly, but she understood their perspective. She'd be jealous too if she had to watch some other girl be with Sasuke, and that's when she felt a boost of confidence. Out of all the girls he'd ever met, and out of all the girls who want him, he chose her. She should be walking through the halls with her head held high that she'd been the one to capture the heart of the elusive Sasuke Uchiha.

She could feel Sasuke's confused gaze at the sudden change in her attitude and blinding smile, but didn't question it aloud. He was just glad that she seemed to have gotten over her nervous episode. It wasn't like Sakura to put so much stock into what others thought of her unless it was her friends or family. He gave her hand a light squeeze before they separated and went to their seats.

* * *

A few people had been skeptical of Sasuke and Sakura's new relationship, apparently the hand holding didn't completely give it away in some peoples eyes. They'd both been pestered about it since the day started, and now they were fully annoyed with a majority of the student body. How many times did they have to explain that, yes, they are really a couple now? Sakura had actually been doing more of the explaining. Sasuke had been letting Naruto's big mouth do all the talking for him. In his mind it was no one elses business, and they'd put two and two together on their own eventually.

Sakura had done the opposite, feeling too rude if she just ignored people who came up and asked her, so she had told every single one of them the shortest version she could. They all seemed to want to know how she'd pulled it off, but she hadn't really been able to clue them in on that. She wasn't sure herself how it had happened. She and Sasuke didn't exactly get along in the beginning. At some point it had just changed between them.

She'd just gotten out of her History class and was about to meet Sasuke and Naruto when someone stepped into her path. All Sakura saw was a flash of red hair before she got slapped across the face. She blinked a few times, more from shock than the impact, she knew how to take a hit after all. Turning her head she focused on Karin standing before her, steam practically rolling out of the redheads ears.

"Ready for round two?" Sakura asked, positively heated that she would confront her again after she'd broken her nose.

Karin just scoffed and crossed her arms, positive that since her friends had stepped up behind her that Sakura wouldn't try anything. Clearly she didn't know her very well.

"So how'd you do it?" Karin interrogated. "Did you black mail him?"

"You caught me." Sakura replied with heavy sarcasm. "I told him that if he didn't ask me out then I'd set him up with you and he caved in seconds."

Karin clenched her fists at Sakura's lack of fear in her presence, along with her comment. Her face almost matched her hair in color at this point. She looked like she wanted to hit Sakura again, which just caused the pinkette to smirk.

'Just try it.' She thought confidently. 'I'm ready for you this time.'

"I'm sure it's just a pity thing." One of Karin's friends suggested.

"You're probably right." Karin agreed. "Sasuke's such a gentleman he probably felt bad for the homeless orphan, and decided to take pity on her. I give it a week."

"I'd give it a hell of a lot longer than that." Came a voice from behind Karin's little group.

They stepped aside to let Ino through, who came and stood between Sakura and Karin.

"If Sasuke were going to date someone out of pity it would have happened by now, and he's not the type to be manipulated or blackmailed. He's too smart for that." Ino defended. "Honestly Karin, it's like you don't know him at all."

"I know everything about Sasuke." The redhead disagreed. "I wasn't being serious when I said those things."

"Really?" Ino asked, faking sincerity.

"Yeah."

"Then lets hear your real theory on why they're dating." Ino suggested.

"Well, it's obvious that-"

"Let me finish that thought for you." The blond girl interrupted, holding a hand in the hair signaling for Karin to shut up. "It's because he cares about her, and if Sasuke knew that you were harassing her like this I can guarantee that he would have plenty to say to you about it. So, instead of taking your insane jealousy out on Sakura, why don't you just suck it up and accept the fact that Sasuke is never going to want you?"

"That's not true!" Karin exclaimed, charging past Ino right towards Sakura, obviously feeling that she was the source of all of her problems.

Sakura neatly sidestepped her, and watched as the girl skidded to a halt and turned to try again, but she was grabbed by the back of her shirt collar before she could move another inch. Sasuke, having caught her just in time, yanked her backwards to speak in her ear.

"Stop now, or you'll regret it." He commanded.

"But Sasuke!" She cried. "They're spreading lies about you!"

"You think I'd let anyone get away with that?" He questioned.

"No. Of course not." Karin answered meekly.

"Then what's the problem?" Naruto asked from his spot next to his best friend.

"N-nothing." She relented.

Sasuke released her, and walked over to where Sakura was standing, rooted to her spot at the spectacle that had taken place. He placed a gentle kiss on her forehead, causing all the girls eyes to widen, except for Ino who just smiled, and then pulled her into a hug.

"Are you okay?" He asked.

"I'm fine." She answered with a nod. "I'd never let her get the best of me."

"I know." He responded, pulling back but keeping an arm slung over her shoulders.

"Then why'd you ask?"

"You do have her handprint on your face." He explained, pointing to her red cheek.

"She slapped me, but I've had worse." Sakura said with a shrug.

"Let's go then." He said, and tried to usher her down the hallway, but she stopped him.

"Hold on for a second." She requested, stepping out of his embrace and walking over to Ino.

"Why'd you do that?" Sakura asked the still smiling blond. "Aren't you mad at me?"

"Whatever for?" Ino asked, a genuinely confused look on her face.

"You all were suppose to go to Homecoming together, and then you come back to school after the weekend to find out that he's dating me. I thought you'd be pissed." She answered honestly.

Ino waved her words away, clearing having put all of that behind her.

"I always knew he was going to cancel on me." The blond girl informed her.

"You did? How?"

"I've seen the way he looks at you. It was only a matter of time before you two got together. I just decided to give you a little push."

"A push?" Sakura asked, obviously not understanding.

"I kissed him for a reason." Ino informed her. "It was clear that you thought you weren't good enough to be with him. I had to do something to try and make you fight for him."

"So you don't have feelings for him?" Sakura questioned, wanting to clarify.

"No." Ino practically laughed. "Sure, he's hot, but not my type."

"Well," She began, in slight disbelief. "thanks I guess."

"You're welcome."

With that they went their separate directions, and headed to class. Sakura wasn't sure she fully believed Ino's story. It seemed a little too good to be true, but she'd stepped in and helped her so either way Sakura felt like she owed her one. She slipped her arm around Sasuke's waist and decided to worry about Ino and her motives at a different time. Right now she just had to hope that no one else assaulted her in the middle of the hallway before school was over.

* * *

 **I'm sure some of you doubt Ino's sincerity in this chapter. I haven't completely decided where I'm taking things between her and Sakura, so your thoughts on the matter are greatly encouraged. I'm sorry it took me so long to update, work has been keeping me busy, and I joined a gym! I'll try and do better from now on. I'm going to let you all know now that starting from the next chapter there will be a lot of drama going on. I feel like having Sasuke and Sakura's relationship be smooth sailing from this point would just be boring and I might as well end the story now if I were going to do that. They won't be breaking up or anything like that, so don't worry. Let me know what you thought of this chapter by leaving me more wonderful reviews! They make my day :)**


	13. Ghost of Christmas Past

**Hey guys! I know this chapter has taken me forever to post and I apologize for that. A lot of stuff has been going on and I honestly, just wasn't feeling all that inspired to write, so if this terrible I'm sorry in advance for that too.**

 **I can't promise that I will ever update as fast as I use to, there's just too much that I have to deal with right now besides writing this story, so I hope you understand.**

 **Please enjoy!**

* * *

Sakura sat in front of the fireplace, snuggled on the couch next to Sasuke. Her head was resting on his shoulder as he carried on a conversation with the rest of the Uchiha family. It was Thanksgiving Day and they'd just finished having dessert, and were currently sprawled out on various pieces of furniture in the living room of her new co-op. She was comfortable, in more ways than one, and it was the happiest she could remember being in quite some time. She and Sasuke had been together for about a month now, and everyone had long since accepted their relationship status. People at school were still slightly shocked by their few public displays of affection, mostly on Sakura's part unsurprisingly, but their friends were thrilled for the both of them, and that was what mattered to them most.

Glancing around, Sakura took time to look at each person in the room, all of whom she now considered family. Sasuke sat next to her, with his arm draped over the back of the couch, his hand resting lightly on her shoulder. He was talking to Itachi, business stuff from the sound of it, she'd mostly tuned it out. Now that their senior year was almost half way over, Sasuke had gotten more and more interested in learning the ins and outs of the family company. He seemed to talk to Itachi and his parents about it incessantly these days, but she was glad that he seemed so enthusiastic about his future and was taking such a proactive role.

For his part Itachi seemed more than pleased to answer any and all questions that Sasuke might have. It was clear to her that he was looking forward to the day when he and his younger brother would one day run the family business together. He sat in one of a pair of armchairs, next to Shisui, who had also been invited to the holiday gathering. While he too had a part in the business it was nowhere near as large. He seemed content to just listen to the idle chatter of this family no matter what it may be. Sakura had a feeling he was just happy to have been fed so well.

'The gluttonous pig.' She thought in amusement.

Tsunade and Sasuke's parents sat in the dining room still, talking over a bottle of wine. Well, Mikoto and Fugaku were having wine. Sakura suspected that her aunt was having something much stronger, judging from her flushed appearance and constant slurring of her words, but the pair opposite her didn't seem to notice, they just enjoyed the company. They rarely saw Tsunade these days and were glad to finally have a chance to catch up with her and talk about something other than the hospital.

Ever since she'd woken up this morning it had been a perfect day, and it had only gotten better as the time went by. Now, as the day was coming to an end, she was beyond happy. Thinking back, Sakura tried to recall her last Thanksgiving with her parents, the last time she'd been surrounded by family like this, but kept drawing a blank.

She could remember the decorations, the pumpkins on either side of the fireplace, the fall colors displayed throughout the house, she even remembered the dinner that her mother prepared every year, but she couldn't remember what they did together. It began to aggrivate her, probably more than it should, but her memories of her parents were precious keepsakes and all she had left of them. She didn't want to forget any of the wonderful moments they'd had together.

However, the more she focused on it, the more every detail seemed to slip away. Now she couldn't recall the designs on the jack-o-lanterns, or how the house smelled at that time of year. It was all fading fast, and the tighter she tried to hold on to it, the faster it shrunk from her mind entirely. She sat up in her spot on the couch, her thoughts taking control of her mood and making it turn for the worse. The sudden motion and jostle of the furniture caused Sasuke to glance at her in bewilderment, but he continued on with his conversation after a few moments, not wanting to lose track of what he'd been saying.

Sakura decided that maybe taking a step outside would help clear her mind. She didn't want to focus on the negative, not when the day had been going to well, so she grabbed her navy blue pea coat, and gray infinity scarf and headed out the door. Once she'd rode the elevator down to the lobby she smiled as the doorman opened the large gold-rimmed glass door for her and stepped outside. Her breath immediately turned frosty in the air, but the slight chill brought her no clarity thus far. She sat down on the few steps leading up to building, and tucked her feet beneath her, glad that she'd chosen her warm Ugg boots for the occasion.

For several minutes she just sat and watch people pass by on the street. Several couples were buying poinsettas from the flowershop across from her building and the smiles on thier faces brought one to her own. Suddenly, a picture flashed into her mind. A pair of pale slender hands holding out the same flowers to her. The red color burned brightly in her mind.

'Were those my mother's hands?' She pondered. 'Did we get those flowers for the holidays too?'

With every passing second Sakura's mood seemed to turn gloomier. Normally, whenever she reminisced about her parents it brought her nothing but smiles, but right now she was upset by the fact that she seemed to slowly be losing every memory of them. She recalled their faces so well because she saw a picture of them everyday at the hospital and she had them scattered throughout her new home, but she couldn't recall the smell of her mothers perfume, or how her dad liked his coffee in the mornings and she couldn't help but focus on how unfair the whole situation was.

Why did they have to die? Why was she the only one who got to live? All she did now was struggle without them. It was the holiday season and her parents should have been here with her. She was angry at the fact that she ever had to leave New York City in the first place. She should have been able to grow up with Sasuke and Naurto. They should have so many more memories together than they do, and she should be working along side her parents at the hospital, not wondering when a wing would be named after them. She was suddenly furious with the harsh realities life brought. Her parents were good people, and their lives were taken too soon, and now she was left without them, always resentful of what she would never have, and unbearably sad by the memories that left her with each passing day.

She sat out there in contemplation for God only knows how long. She could tell that her nose and the tips of her ears had long since turned red, and since she'd forgotten gloves, the cold was also nipping at her fingers, but she paid it no mind. The longer she sat outside the more heated her temperament grew, distracting her from the unrelenting winter air. Eventually she heard footsteps sound from behind her, but she didn't let that thought grab her focus for long. It wasn't until Sasuke kneeled before her and grabbed her hands in his own that she lost the glazed over look in her eyes, and actually paid attention to what was going on around her.

"Jeez Sakura!" He exclaimed, checking over her. "You're freezing. Have you been sitting out here this entire time?"

"I guess so." She mumbled, finally aware of the temperature now that Sasuke had pointed it out.

"What were you thinking?" He questioned angrily. "You're going to catch a cold."

"I guess so." She repeated.

At that Sasuke paused for a moment, taking a closer look at her. He noticed that she looked numb, and not from the cold. She kept staring off into space, looking somewhere over his shoulder, and she wasn't even shivering involuntarily. It was obvious that something had upset her, but he couldn't be sure what exactly it was. Just a few hours ago she'd been fine, sitting next to him on the couch, curled up under her favorite blanket, and then suddenly she'd just gotten up and walked out. At the time he didn't think anything of it. They'd been together practically the entire day, if she wanted some time to herself then he didn't mind that, but when his parents had commented on how long she'd been absent he decided to go looking for her. Luckily she hadn't gone very far, but he was concerned nonetheless.

"What's wrong?" He asked, the sincerity in his voice reaching through to her foggy mind.

Sakura just blinked at him a few times. Surprised by his intuition. It had only taken him one look to realize she was upset. She didn't think it was that obvious, maybe he just knew her that well already. She liked to think that if he was upset she'd know no matter how adamantly he denied it, but that's exactly what she was about to do. Her problems shouldn't weigh down Sasuke too. He had his own things to worry about, and he was her boyfriend. Not her caretaker. Plus, she didn't want him to know what was going through her mind. He knew that she had issues with her parents death, but he didn't know how deeply rooted they were within her.

'Unfortunately, he'll figure that out soon enough.' She thought glumly.

"Sorry. I was just thinking about the past, but I'm fine now. I promise." She assured with a small smile.

"Don't lie to me." Sasuke growled through clenched teeth.

"Alright." Sakura relented. "I'm not okay, but I will be. I just need some time. I'm not ready to talk about it just yet."

He took a moment to assess her words, trying to determine the amount of truth in them. Once he'd decided that she was being honest he lifted her up and they walked back to the elevator together. They stepped inside and Sakura quietly placed her head on his shoulder. He felt her weight settle against him. They had just passed the second floor when Sasuke noticed that Sakura's eyes were closed, and she'd somehow managed to fall half asleep standing up. Apparently she was exhausted, and he lifted her in his arms just before she slid to the ground. By the time they reached the front door his family had decided it was time for them to leave and Sakura was already dozing in his arms, so Sasuke carried her to her room. He stripped off her coat and shoes and then tucked her into bed, taking a moment to watch her sleep. When he heard Itachi calling him from the bottom of the staircase he knew it was time to leave.

* * *

Weeks had gone by, and it was now the middle of December. With each passing day Sakura had become more and more reclusive. She barely talked to her friends, and the only time she seemed to leave the house anymore was for school. Sasuke practically had to barge his way in the door each time he wanted to check on her. She kept telling him that she was fine, nothing was wrong, but it was the furthest thing from the truth. Everyone was getting concerned about her. Even his parents had noticed how strange she'd been acting. Apparently everyone at the hospital knew of their connection and kept asking his parents why Sakura never showed up to volunteer anymore. They'd asked him the same question in turn, but he hadn't been aware that she wasn't going. Eventually he asked her about it, and she just shrugged it off. It wasn't like her at all. Above everything else, Sakura cared for others, and she wouldn't just leave them with a shrug of her shoulders and go on as if nothing had happened. She loved spending time at the hospital, so he couldn't understand what had gotten into her lately.

At first it had started off with her going off on her own for an hour each day after school. Then eventually one hour stretched to two, then three, and then four, until eventually Sasuke barely saw her either. These days it felt as if all he caught were glimpses of her in class or walking down the hallways, but she wasn't as cheerful as she had been. It was like an invisible dark cloud loomed over her head. All of her friends had tried to make an effort to spend time with her in the beginning, stopping by her place after school, calling her, leaving notes, even asking him if they'd done something to upset her. After a while though they'd all given up and just decided to give her space. They'd ask him every now and then if she was doing okay, and it frustrated him that he couldn't really answer their questions, because she barely spoke to him either. It had gotten so bad that he and Itachi had even gone to talk to Tsunade about it, and that conversation had just made him even more frustrated than before.

" _So," Sasuke began. "your sage advice is to sit back and do_ nothing _?"_

" _Don't get testy with me." Tsunade fired back. "I'm glad that you care about her wellbeing, but I've been taking care of Sakura for years. It's a phase, and it'll pass, so just give her time."_

" _What she's doing isn't healthy!" Sasuke exclaimed. "She needs to talk to someone…even if it isn't me."_

" _You think I never tried that?" The elder retorted. "Sakura spent years in therapy after her parents were murdered, but she always gets like this eventually. To be honest I'm surprised it didn't happen sooner."_

" _Wait." Sasuke halted. "This happens every year?"_

" _Yes." Tsunade confirmed. "Normally it happens well before Thanksgiving though. I assume I have you to thank for the longevity of her happiness this time around, but just like every year in the past, eventually she will be okay. It's just something she has to go through."_

" _Do you know what's causing her mood?" Itachi asked, speaking for the first time from his spot next to his younger brother._

" _I do, but I won't divulge that information."_

" _Why not?" Sasuke roared, steam practically rolling out of his ears in agitation._

" _Because," Tsunade began reasonably. "if Sakura wanted you to know what was going on with her then she would have told you herself, but the fact that you all are sitting here in front of me just proves that she didn't. Therefore, I will not be the one to tell you her personal secrets."_

Itachi had agreed with her, much to Sasuke's chagrin, stating that if she was positive that Sakura would be fine in the end then it wasn't their place to pry. The blond had nodded in understanding, thankful that Sakura had such caring friends, and sent them on their way. However, Sasuke couldn't seem to help himself, and thanks to an idiotic idea from his blond best friend, he was currently following Sakura down the road. He was interested to see where she was going, because it obviously wasn't home since they were headed in the opposite direction.

Keeping a safe distance, Sasuke trailed behind her all the way until she pulled up to two large sprawling rock archways. Sakura drove right in and when Sasuke pulled up to follow her he was able to read the sign etched into the stone surrounding the area. It read "Greenwood Cemetery."

'Is this where she's been spending all of her time?' He thought. 'In a cemetery?'

At that moment his brain finally put two and two together. She was visiting her parents. Of course she was, and it was no wonder she got upset every year around this time. They were murdered just a few days before Christmas. It all made perfect sense to him now, and he felt a little stupid for not figuring it out sooner. Especially since he knew how important family is to Sakura.

'She probably hasn't been able to visit their graves since she left if they're buried here.' He mused dejectedly.

Just as he predicted when Sasuke hit his brakes and put the car in park he could see Sakura in the distance sitting in front of a headstone with the name "Haruno" in large letters and beneath that "Kizashi" and "Mebuki." Sasuke sat and watched the pinkette for a moment, letting her have some time with her parents, but after an hour had gone by and she didn't budge an inch he thought that maybe it was time to alert her to his presence.

He got out of the car, gingerly shutting his door as to not spook her, and slowly made his way over. When he got a few feet away, Sakura heard the crunch of his footsteps in the frosted grass, and turned to face him from her position on the ground. The expression on her face caused an invisibe fist to squeeze Sasuke's heart. He'd never seen her look so sad. She had tears running down her face in small streams, and her eyes were bloodshot and swollen. He could see the sun glimmering off of the droplettes that stuck to her lashes, and her breaths came out in shallow little puffs of air.

Instinctively, he moved closer, kneeling down next to her, and as soon he got within arms reach Sakura flung herself into his chest, sobbing heartbrokenly. He just held her, unsure of what else he could do for her in that moment, but eventually her sobs quieted, and she seemed to return to her silent tears. No matter what he tried Sasuke couldn't get them to stop fully. He rubbed her back in small circles, assuring her that he was here for her and he wouldn't leave. He placed small, gentle kisses on her at random, hoping that would make her feel better in some way.

Sakura pulled back from him, and wiped her nose on her coat sleeve in a very unladylike manner, but he didn't care. He just brushed his hand through her hair repeatedly, and leaned in to place a kiss on the top of her head. He'd never seen her like this. She wasn't very cheerful at school like usual, but she wasn't broken down in tears either. He couldn't help but think that it must take a lot out of her to not let anyone see how hurt she is all the time.

"I'm sorry." Sakura mumbled. "I never wanted you to see me like this."

"Why?" He asked, sincerely wanting to know why should refused to open up to him.

"I'm broken Sasuke." She explained, looking away from him to stare at the ground. "When my parents died...no, when my parents were murdered, they took a piece of me with them that I'll never get back. I can't be fixed, and I knew that if you ever saw how bad things could be for me you would try to make them better, and you just can't. No one can."

"There's nothing wrong with you Sakura. I don't see anything that needs to be fixed." He promised. "It's natural for you to be upset around the anniversary of their death. Anyone who went through what you did would be."

Sakura peered at the headstone once more as she listened to his words. She knew that her parents would have loved Sasuke if they had ever actually gotten the chance to meet him. They probably would have joked around with Fugaku and Mikoto about being in-laws one day.

"I haven't been able to visit them in seven years." She admitted. "Tsunade and I came to visit for the first five after it happened, but eventually she got too caught up in work, and I think she understood that even if I were able to come here it wouldn't give me any closure."

Sasuke watched her place a pale, shaky hand atop the stone, tracing the names of her parents sorrowfully. At that moment he noticed the abundance of flowers laying at the bottom, several large bouquettes of lilies and white roses sat in a neat row. Even the oldest set seemed far from dead, and there had to at least be seven of them.

"I bring new ones every time I come." Sakura explained, seeing the direction of his gaze. "Lilies were my moms favorite, but my dad always forgot and bought her roses for their anniversary. She never told him. She'd just kiss his cheek and put them in some water, and stare at them for a while like they were the best gift she'd ever recieved even though she got them every year."

"You still remember little stuff like that?" Sasuke asked, slightly surprised.

He watched her pink hair move back and forth with a shake of her head miserably.

"That's the thing...I feel like I'm forgetting everything about them lately."

"You remebered that, even though you were so young when they died."

"No." She replied angrily. "My aunt told me that story the first time we came here, and it just stuck with me. After that I would always buy flowers, and bring them here. Even when I couldn't come myself I would have them delivered. It's out of habit now more than memory."

"I shouldn't have to worry about this." Sakura continued. "They should just be here. I shouldn't have to be afraid of forgetting everything about them because they should still be alive. They were taken from me too soon. It's not right. Every year I'll finally be in a decent place, and then the holdiays come around, and I remember that they should be here with me. I should be smiling with them, and making Thanksgiving dinner with my mom, or swapping presents on Christmas day. I should know what it's like to go out and pick a tree with my dad and decorate it together when we get home, or putting up lights around the house with...my sister."

"Your sister?" Sasuke asked shocked.

"My mom was pregnant when she was killed. I didn't even know. My aunt had to tell me. They were going to surprise me with the news on Christmas...I'd always wanted a younger sibling. I didn't just lose my parents that day, and it makes me so mad that even though I feel like I didn't get enough time with them, she didn't get any at all. She never got to know what amazing people they were, and I never got to meet her. She doesn't even have a name."

"I'm sorry." The raven haired male apologized. "I had no idea."

"Only a handful of people did." Sakura informed. "Your mom knew. She was such close friends with my mother that she was actually the first persosn to find out after my dad."

"Oh." He responded dumbly. "She never mentioned it."

"I doubt that she ever will. It's not something that's common knowledge, and bringing up the past doesn't help anyone...especially me."

"You're going to be okay Sakura. Your parents might not be here anymore, your sister either, but you still have family, and we'll be here no matter what you need."

"Thank you." She smiled sadly. "I'm sorry I never mentioned any of this before. I know I should have, but...honestly, I guess I just got so use to going through all of this by myself that the idea of opening up never really occured to me."

"I get it," Sasuke said in understanding. "but you can always tell me anything."

"You're being unusually mushy today." Sakura pointed out.

"Well, you're upset. I have to do something." He explained.

"So, in other words I shouldn't get use to this rare romantic side of you?"

"Exactly." Sasuke nodded in agreement, causing her to let out a small giggle.

The sound warmed his heart, glad that she was feeling better, and returning to her usual self. Seeing her so upset and depressed made him feel helpless, which wasn't something he was accustomed to having to deal with.

"Better?" He asked gingerly.

"Yeah." Sakura agreed. "Can I just have a few more minutes though?"

"Of course. I'll go wait in the car, and then we can head back to your place."

"Sure."

With her reassurance Sasuke stood and made his way to the car, leaving her kneeling in front of her parents gravestone once more. She closed her eyes, taking a few breaths to steady her emotions which seemed to have a mind of their own lately. Just as she reopened them a voice spoke from over her shoulder.

"I thought he would never leave." A woman spoke with a hint of annoyance.

Sakura twirled in time to see her step out from behind a tree a few feet away, and begin to make her way over. At first she couldn't see her face, since the woman wore a hood to cover it, but her voice was light and airy. It gave off a peaceful vibe calming Sakura's frazzled nerves from being snuck upon.

"Do I know you?" The pinkette asked the hooded figure.

"Oh, I certainly hope so. After all I'll never be able to forget your face."

"I'm sorry?" Sakura asked, more than confused.

At that moment the woman pulled her hood back and her dark brown hair fell down past her shoulders in sleek lines. Her dark emerald eyes nearly burned a hole in Sakura's head from how hard she was glaring at her. Hatred evident in every gesture and movement she made. The pink haired girl sat frozen in her place upon seeing the womans face. Her whole body started to shake in fear, and her mind screamed at her to run, but she was rooted to her spot on the ground, her breath caught in her lungs, and her lip quivering slightly. This was the face that haunted her nightmares, and caused her endless angst throughout her life. It was a face she would never forget, but also one that shouldn't be alive.

"Rin?" She breathed, disbelieving.

"Close." The woman returned, and then proceeded to pull something out of her pocket.

Sakura saw the sun gleam off the shining metal, and had the slightest presence of mind to register that it was a gun, right before the person before her turned the safety off and cocked it, prepared to fire.

"Are you going to kill me?" Sakura questioned fearfully, barely understanding the true severity of her situation.

"I should after all the trouble you've caused me." The brunette said thoughtfully.

"Trouble?"

"Yes." She spat out angrily. "Trouble. Because of you and your stupid parents I lost everything. They took it all away from me, and now I'm going to do the same to you, so to answer your question, yes. I am going to kill you. Just not now. That wouldn't be much fun. I'm going to draw this out, and torment you the way that your family tormented me. I'm going to make this last...and I'm going to watch you break. Piece by piece, and I'm going to enjoy it."

"Who are you?" Sakura asked, trying to be brave, but felt tears slip down from her eyes once more that day.

"Can't you tell?" The woman asked, laughing hysterically, causing Sakura to shiver involuntarily.

It was clear that this person wasn't stable, and her manic personality was causing Sakura to panic. She didn't know how she was going to get out of this situation. Even if Sasuke could see her from the car he wouldn't be able to tell that this woman meant her harm. She had placed herself in front of Sakura in a way that the angle didn't allow anyone inside the car to see what she held in her hand.

"Rin Kanagawa was my mother." She finally confessed.

"Your mother." Sakura asked, beyond shocked.

After her parents murder she'd looked up the news reports and saw the pictures of the woman who had committed the atrocity, even looked into her backgroung. The only family she was suppose to have had was her sister that she was supposedly avenging. She never saw any mention of a daughter, but the resemblance was undeniable. The woman who stood before her could have been Rin's twin they looked so similar. It was easy to understand why Sakura had mistaken her for her parnets killer from the start.

"The look on your face is wonderful." The woman spoke cheerfully. "You're scared witless but you can't look away. Yes. Rin was my mother. I can tell that you see the resemblance. Now do you understand? Your parents took her away from me. If it wasn't for them murdering my aunt then my mother would never have felt the need to take such drastic measures, but they just couldn't seem to do their jobs. I mean honestly, they were suppose to be doctors. What kind of doctor just lets their patient die?"

"My parents were great doctors!" Sakura argued, anger replacing her fear momentarily at hearing someone disgrace her parents memory. "My father did everything he could to save her. It wasn't his fault. Sometimes people just die."

"Oh really? Is that why you're sitting here all sad and melancholy in front of your paretns grave? Because sometimes people just die?"

"I-" Sakura began, but was cut off as she was backhanded across the face with the butt of the gun, causing her to fall backwards onto the ground.

"Don't speak!" The woman said in a shrill voice. "My entire family is dead because of yours, and now, because I can't do anything to your parents I'm going to let you know exactly how it feels to have every single precious person in your life disappear. One by one. I'm going to enjoy watching you suffer the way I did."

Sakura groggily picked herself up from the ground, enough to see her crazy grin, as her abuser kneeled in front of her.

"Maybe I'll start with your little boyfriend over there." She suggested, causing Sakura's heart to constrict in fear.

"He has nothing to do with this!"

"They all have everything to do with this! Every single person you care about...you better tell them to be careful. I'll be watching."

With that she began to walk away, leaving Sakura laying on the ground, fear etched onto her every feature at the threat this woman now posed to not only her, but every person in her life. They were all at risk just because they knew her.

"Wait.." Sakura called out, causing the woman to turn once more.

"Your little boyfriend is about to come running, so that's my cue to leave, but I'll tell you this...Akari. Akari Kanagawa."

With those last words she disappeared back into the trees, and Sakura felt the tears flowing down her face the same time that she heard Sasuke calling her name as his foosteps came thundering towards her. He slid next to her, lifting her fragile frame in his arms upon finding her on the ground and injured.

"What the hell happened?" He asked.

"She's going to kill us." Sakura whispered.

"What? Who is?" He demanded. "You're not making any sense."

"She's going to kill everyone...and it's all my fault." Sakura said, turning to sob into his shoulder.

"Sakura..." Sasuke said, truly fearful now because of her reaction to whatever had happened that he missed.

"We're all going to die." The pinkette said, and she continued to repeat that over and over as Sasuke held her and tried his best to calm her down.

* * *

 **So was that turn of events as shocking as I hoped it would be? I can't imagine that any of you expected that to happen, but who knows? Tell me what you thought of this chapter by leaving reviews! I love them all no matter what they say, and I hope you can forgive me for taking so long to write this! I really am sorry! Love you guys! You're the best.**


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